unit The World of a Story 1

plot, setting, and mood

• In Fiction • In Nonfiction • In Media • In Poetry

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VA_L10PE-u01-uo.indd 25 3/28/11 8:43:38 AM unit Share What You Know

1 Which stories are WORTH reading?

So many activities compete for your time and attention. You can spend your leisure time watching television, playing video games, or surfing the Internet. If you decide to invest your time reading a book, you want value for that investment. You want to be sure the story is worth reading, making you laugh, cry, or gasp in surprise. ACTIVITY Which stories made you glad you had read them? What qualities made these stories so good? Create a list of your criteria for a “great read.” Think about the following: • Do you care more about the characters or the events that happen to them? • Does suspense play a role in the stories you like? • Are there certain places you like to read about? • What emotions do you like to feel as you read?

Find It Online! Go to thinkcentral.com for the interactive version of this unit.

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VA_L10PE-u01-uo.indd 26 3/28/11 8:43:17 AM Virginia Standards of Learning Preview Unit Goals

text • Analyze the author’s choices on ordering events in a text analysis • Analyze setting and its influence on mood and conflict • Analyze narrative techniques, including foreshadowing, irony, and suspense • Identify stages of plot and how characters advance the plot

reading • Cite evidence to make inferences and draw conclusions

writing and • Write an interpretive essay language • Support key points with evidence from the text • Use descriptive details and improve sentence flow

vocabulary • Determine figurative and connotative meanings of words • Understand and use specialized/technical vocabulary • Use word roots to help determine meaning

academic • affect • establish vocabulary • communicate • identify • definite

speaking and • Present a response to a short story listening

media • Analyze film techniques that create suspense literacy

dvd-rom listening and

Media from Apollo 13 Media Literacy: Creating Suspense on Film Film Clip on Media Smart dvd-rom Study In telling a suspenseful story, both writers and filmmakers aim to seize an audience’s attention, making it anxious to learn the ultimate outcome. Writers ratchet up the tension primarily through the words that form the complications speaking of the rising action or the vivid descriptions of characters’ struggles. Filmmakers Worthwhile Moments on Film deliver suspense through a careful combination of visual and sound techniques. How do directors keep viewers in suspense when the audience already What keeps you on the knows the real-life ending? The secret, according to film director Ron Howard, is “simply storytelling.” A director can use camera shots, editing, and music to tell EDGE of your seat? a well-known story and still raise the level of suspense. film techniues strategies for viewing Virginia Standards What type of movie do you prefer? Do you like the relentless tension of Learning created by nonstop action, or do you prefer the shock of a surprise Camera shots can build • Consider the effect of a close-up shot versus a long 10.2b Evaluate sources including advertisements, editorials, blogs, ending? The scene you are about to view re-creates the tense suspense by tracking the shot. The first conveys characters’ emotions or Discover how director Ron Howard re-creates web sites, and other media for moments that kept viewers glued to their television sets in 1970, emotions of characters as thoughts, while the second shows characters in relationships between intent, factual they face certain struggles. relation to their surroundings. Ask yourself: How content, and opinion. 10.2d Identify waiting to see if the real Apollo 13 crew would return home safely. the tools and techniques used to do close-up shots help viewers sympathize with achieve the intended focus. Background characters? • Watch for point-of-view shots, which show what Unlucky 13 Some people believe that the number 13 is unlucky, a character sees. These shots give viewers an but those at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration opportunity to experience what is happening from a (NASA) dismissed the superstitious belief. According to NASA, character’s point of view. the flight of Apollo 13 would be a routine mission. After all, Apollo the human drama and suspense of a real-life 11 and Apollo 12 had already landed on the moon. What could Suspenseful scenes can be • Notice how parallel editing, which is an editing possibly go wrong? The mission was to begin at 1:13 .. on April edited in a number of ways. technique that cuts from one shot to another, shows 11. In military time, that time is written as 13:13. Apollo 13 was Directors manipulate time, simultaneous action—often in different locations. supposed to orbit the moon on April 13. Instead, an explosion which can affect the flow Ask yourself: How do sudden shifts to different settings heighten the suspense? weakened the ship’s oxygen supply and battery life. The crew of a scene. and the world were about to weather a major crisis. • Be aware that suspenseful scenes often rely on a high-stakes deadline or a race against time. The Apollo 13 movie, based on the book Lost Moon by Directors manipulate time to create suspense or astronaut Jim Lovell with writer Jeffrey Kluger, recounts the increase viewers’ anticipation. They can shorten nerve-racking events of the actual mission. Director Ron Howard time, turning minutes to seconds, or they can extend crisis in space. Page 136. captures every detail of NASA’s race against time. it, stretching a moment to a nail-biting extreme.

Music can be a key element • Consider how music signals major events. You can in a suspenseful scene. often predict when something good or bad is about It can signal dramatic to happen through musical cues. events, tense moments, or • Notice how your emotions change when music is triumphant resolutions. used. Ask yourself: What effect does the music have on me?

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VA_L10PE-u01-uo.indd 27 29/03/11 3:50 PM unit 1 Text Plot, Setting, and Mood Analysis Every story transports you to a fictional world. You might be swept away by a love Workshop story set during the Civil War or mesmerized by a science fiction adventure that takes place on an uninhabited planet. No matter where and when they unfold, good stories allow you to experience times, places, and conflicts that are outside your everyday life. To understand why a story affects you as it does, you have to analyze the elements—plot, setting, and mood—that make up its world.

Virginia Standards of Learning Part 1: Setting and Mood Included in this workshop: Almost every story happens in a particular time and place—for example, “long ago, 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary in a galaxy far, far away,” in a modern city, or during the Great Depression. The time texts of different cultures and and place of the story is its setting. Writers create setting through the following: eras. 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s specific word choices, • details that suggest the time of day, year, season, or historical period syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, • descriptions of characters, clothing, buildings, weather, and landscapes achieve specific effects, and support the author’s purpose. Another element that contributes to the world of a story is the mood, the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for readers. Whether it is mysterious or uplifting, a mood is developed through a writer’s use of imagery and choice of words and details. Setting details, in particular, help to establish a mood. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” (page 80), the setting creates a mysterious, tense mood. The bleak story takes place on a wilderness trail in the Yukon Territory, a region in far northwestern Canada.

setting in Creates Tension Serves as a Symbol Can the man build a fire to TO BUILD A The man’s frozen warm his frozen limbs? He surroundings symbolize faces conflicts like this one death and the indifference of as he struggles to survive. FIRE nature to what people want. Influences Character Overconfident and inexperienced in the cold, Helps Create Mood the man learns a life-or- death lesson. The setting creates a mood of alienation and fear in the face of a natural world that is indifferent.

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VA_L10PE-u01-law.indd 28 3/28/11 10:15:03 AM model: setting and mood At the beginning of the novel Ethan Frome, the narrator hears townspeople allude to a tragedy that ruined the life of the title character, Ethan. When a snowstorm hits the town, the narrator must spend the night at Ethan’s, where he finally hears the entire tragic story. This excerpt begins as the storm is approaching.

from

Novel by Edith Wharton

. . . We set out for Starkfield with a good chance of getting there for supper. Close Read But at sunset the clouds gathered again, bringing an earlier night, and the snow 1. Where and when does began to fall straight and steadily from a sky without wind, in a soft universal this story takes place? diffusion more confusing than the gusts and eddies of the morning. It seemed Describe the setting as 5 to be a part of the thickening darkness, to be the winter night itself descending completely as you can. on us layer by layer. The small ray of Frome’s lantern was soon lost in this smothering medium, 2. Reread lines 1 –11. What in which even his sense of direction, and the bay’s homing instinct, finally mood do the setting ceased to serve us. Two or three times some ghostly landmark sprang up to details help to create? 10 warn us that we were astray, and then was sucked back into the mist; and when Support your answer. we finally regained our road the old horse began to show signs of exhaustion. I felt myself to blame for having accepted Frome’s offer, and after a short discussion I persuaded him to let me get out of the sleigh and walk along through the snow at the bay’s side. In this way we struggled on for another 3. What conflicts does the 15 mile or two, and at last reached a point where Frome, peering into what setting create for Ethan seemed to me formless night, said: “That’s my gate down yonder.” . . . and the narrator? “Look here, Frome,” I began, “there’s no earthly use in your going any farther—” but he interrupted me: “Nor you neither. There’s been about enough of this for anybody.” 20 I understood that he was offering me a night’s shelter at the farm, and 4. Identify two setting without answering I turned into the gate at his side, and followed him to the details that may hint at barn, where I helped him to unharness and bed down the tired horse. When the tragic story that the this was done he unhooked the lantern from the sleigh, stepped out again into narrator will soon hear. the night, and called to me over his shoulder: “This way.” Explain your choices. One 25 Far off above us a square of light trembled through the screen of snow. detail has been boxed. Staggering along in Frome’s wake I floundered toward it, and in the darkness almost fell into one of the deep drifts against the front of the house. Frome scrambled up the slippery steps of the porch, digging a way through the snow with his heavily booted foot. Then he lifted his lantern, found the latch, and 30 led the way into the house. I went after him into a low unlit passage, at the back of which a ladder-like staircase rose into obscurity.

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VA_L10PE-u01-law.indd 29 3/28/11 10:14:03 AM Part 2: Plot and Story Analysis A story is much more than the world in which the action unfolds. The real power of a story comes from what happens in that world. Most stories follow a plot, a series of scenes that traces a conflict, or struggle between opposing forces. The conflict can be internal, taking place within the mind of a character, or it can be an external conflict between a character and an outside force, such as another character, society, or nature. Plot is usually talked about in terms of the following stages. In successful stories, each stage contains individual scenes that contribute to the plot as a whole. Keep in mind, however, that not every story follows this exact structure.

stages of a typical plot questions for analysis

exposition • What details help to establish the setting This part of a plot introduces the and create a mood? setting and characters and establishes • What kind of person is the main a mood. It may also reveal the conflict character? or set the stage for it. • What, if anything, is revealed about the conflict?

rising action • What is the central conflict? Complications arise as the main • How do the characters respond to the character struggles to resolve the conflict? conflict. “The plot thickens” as • How does the conflict become more suspense builds. complicated?

climax • What decision or action has the main The climax is a turning point in the character made or taken? story and the moment of greatest • What impact might this decision or action suspense. Often the main character have on the characters and the conflict? makes a decision or takes an action that • How might the conflict be resolved? makes the outcome of the conflict clear.

falling action • What is the outcome of the main This stage shows the results of the character’s decision or action? decision or action that happened at the • What steps does the main character take climax. Tension eases as the conflict to resolve the conflict? is resolved.

resolution • How have the events and conflicts The resolution reveals the final affected or changed the characters? outcome of the story and ties up any • Through the resolution, what message loose ends. might the writer be suggesting?

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VA_L10PE-u01-law.indd 30 3/28/11 10:13:47 AM Text Analysis Workshop

Part 3: Analyze the Text In this story, a lovestruck teenager is faced with a difficult choice. As you read, use what you’ve learned about setting, mood, and plot to analyze the story.

Short story by W. D. Wetherell There was a summer in my life when the only creature that seemed lovelier Close Read to me than a largemouth bass was Sheila Mant. I was fourteen. The Mants had 1. The exposition transports rented the cottage next to ours on the river; with their parties, their frantic games you into the world of the of softball, their constant comings and goings, they appeared to me denizens of a story. What do you learn 5 brilliant existence. “Too noisy by half,” my mother quickly decided, but I would about the setting in lines have given anything to be invited to one of their parties, and when my parents 1–8? Describe the mood went to bed I would sneak through the woods to their hedge and stare enchanted that the setting details at the candlelit swirl of white dresses and bright, paisley skirts. help to create. Sheila was the middle daughter—at seventeen, all but out of reach. She 10 would spend her days sunbathing on a float my Uncle Sierbert had moored in their cove, and before July was over I had learned all her moods. If she lay flat on the diving board with her hand trailing idly in the water, she was pensive, not to be disturbed. On her side, her head propped up by her arm, she was observant, considering those around her with a look that seemed queenly 15 and severe. Sitting up, arms tucked around her long, suntanned legs, she was approachable, but barely, and it was only in those glorious moments when she stretched herself prior to entering the water that her various suitors found the courage to come near. These were many. The Dartmouth heavyweight crew would scull by her 20 house on their way upriver, and I think all eight of them must have been in love with her at various times during the summer; the coxswain would curse 2. What does the boxed at them through his megaphone but without effect—there was always a pause text reveal about the in their pace when they passed Sheila’s float. I suppose to these jaded twenty- narrator’s personality? year-olds she seemed the incarnation of innocence and youth, while to me 25 she appeared unutterably suave, the epitome of sophistication. I was on the 3. Consider the description swim team at school, and to win her attention would do endless laps between of Sheila in lines 9–18 and my house and the Vermont shore, hoping she would notice the beauty of my the narrator’s eagerness flutter kick, the power of my crawl. Finishing, I would boost myself up onto to impress her. What our dock and glance casually over toward her, but she was never watching, and do you think the main 30 the miraculous day she was, I immediately climbed the diving board and did conflict will be about? my best tuck and a half for her, and continued diving until she had left and the sun went down and my longing was like a madness and I couldn’t stop.

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VA_L10PE-u01-law.indd 31 3/28/11 10:13:38 AM t was late August by the time I got up the nerve to ask her out. The tortured will-I’s, won’t-I’s, the agonized indecision over what to say, the 35 false starts toward her house and embarrassed retreats—the details of these have been seared from my memory, and the only part I remember clearly is emerging from the woods toward dusk while they were playing softball on their lawn, as bashful and frightened as a unicorn. Sheila was stationed halfway between first and second, well outside the 40 infield. She didn’t seem surprised to see me—as a matter of fact, she didn’t seem to see me at all. “If you’re playing second base, you should move closer,” I said. Close Read She turned—I took the full brunt of her long red hair and well-spaced 4. In lines 33–48, the freckles. narrator makes a decision 45 “I’m playing outfield,” she said, “I don’t like the responsibility of having a that sets the rising action base.” in motion. Explain what “Yeah, I can understand that,” I said, though I couldn’t. “There’s a band in his decision is. How does Dixford tomorrow night at nine. Want to go?” this scene make the story One of her brothers sent the ball sailing over the leftfielder’s head; she stood more compelling? 50 and watched it disappear toward the river. “You have a car?” she said, without looking up. I played my master stroke. “We’ll go by canoe.” I spent all of the following day polishing it. I turned it upside down on our lawn and rubbed every inch with Brillo, hosing off the dirt, wiping it with 55 chamois until it gleamed as bright as aluminum ever gleamed. About five, I slid it into the water, arranging cushions near the bow so Sheila could lean on them if she was in one of her pensive moods, propping up my father’s transistor radio by the middle thwart so we could have music when we came back. Automatically, without thinking about it, I mounted my Mitchell reel on my 60 Pfleuger spinning rod and stuck it in the stern. I say automatically, because I never went anywhere that summer without a fishing rod. When I wasn’t swimming laps to impress Sheila, I was back in our driveway practicing casts, and when I wasn’t practicing casts, I was tying the line to Tosca, our springer spaniel, to test the reel’s drag, and when I wasn’t 65 doing any of those things, I was fishing the river for bass. Too nervous to sit at home, I got in the canoe early and started paddling in 5. Reread lines 53–65. What a huge circle that would get me to Sheila’s dock around eight. As automatically more do you learn about as I brought along my rod, I tied on a big Rapala plug, let it down into the the narrator and the kind water, let out some line and immediately forgot all about it. of person he is?

70 It was already dark by the time I glided up to the Mants’ dock. Even by day the river was quiet, most of the summer people preferring Sunapee or one of the other nearby lakes, and at night it was a solitude difficult to believe, a corridor of hidden life that ran between banks like a tunnel. Even the stars 6. Compare the description were part of it. They weren’t as sharp anywhere else; they seemed to have of the setting in the 75 chosen the river as a guide on their slow wheel toward morning, and in the boxed text with that in course of the summer’s fishing, I had learned all their names. the first paragraph of the I was there ten minutes before Sheila appeared. I heard the slam of their story. How has the mood screen door first, then saw her in the spotlight as she came slowly down the changed? path. As beautiful as she was on the float, she was even lovelier now—her

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80 white dress went perfectly with her hair, and complimented her figure even more than her swimsuit. It was her face that bothered me. It had on its delightful fullness a very dubious expression. “Look,” she said. “I can get Dad’s car.” 85 “It’s faster this way,” I lied. “Parking’s tense up there. Hey, it’s safe. I won’t tip it or anything.” She let herself down reluctantly into the bow. I was glad she wasn’t facing me. When her eyes were on me, I felt like diving in the river again from agony and joy. I pried the canoe away from the dock and started paddling upstream. There 90 was an extra paddle in the bow, but Sheila made no move to pick it up. She took her shoes off, and dangled her feet over the side. Ten minutes went by. “What kind of band?” she said. “It’s sort of like folk music. You’ll like it.” 95 “Eric Caswell’s going to be there. He strokes number four.” “No kidding?” I said. I had no idea who she meant. “What’s that sound?” she said, pointing toward shore. “Bass. That splashing sound?” “Over there.” 100 “Yeah, bass. They come into the shallows at night to chase frogs and moths and things. Big largemouths. Micropetrus salmonides,” I added, showing off. “I think fishing’s dumb,” she said, making a face. “I mean, it’s boring and all. Definitely dumb.”

ow I have spent a great deal of time in the years since wondering why Sheila Mant should come down so hard on fishing. Was her father a fisherman? Her antipathy toward fishing nothing more than normal filial rebellion? Had she tried it once? A messy encounter with worms? It doesn’t matter. What does, is that at that fragile moment in time I would have Close Read given anything not to appear dumb in Sheila’s severe and unforgiving eyes. 7. Describe Sheila’s 110 She hadn’t seen my equipment yet. What I should have done, of course, personality. In what was push the canoe in closer to shore and carefully slide the rod into some ways does her attitude branches where I could pick it up again in the morning. Failing that, I could create conflicts for the have surreptitiously dumped the whole outfit overboard, written off the forty narrator? or so dollars as love’s tribute. What I actually did do was gently lean forward, 115 and slowly, ever so slowly, push the rod back through my legs toward the stern where it would be less conspicuous. It must have been just exactly what the bass was waiting for. Fish will trail a lure sometimes, trying to make up their mind whether or not to attack, and the slight pause in the plug’s speed caused by my adjustment was tantalizing 120 enough to overcome the bass’s inhibitions. My rod, safely out of sight at last, bent double. The line, tightly coiled, peeled off the spool with the shrill, tearing zip of a high-speed drill.

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VA_L10PE-u01-law.indd 33 3/28/11 10:13:16 AM Four things occurred to me at once. One, that it was a bass. Two, that it was a big bass. Three, that it was the biggest bass I had ever hooked. Four, that Close Read 125 Sheila Mant must not know. “What was that?” she said, half turning around. 8. In lines 123–125, the main “Uh, what was what?” conflict comes into sharp focus. What is the “That buzzing noise.” narrator’s conflict? “Bats.” 130 She shuddered, quickly drew her feet back into the canoe. Every instinct I had told me to pick up the rod and strike back at the bass, but there was no need to—it was already solidly hooked. Downstream, an awesome distance downstream, it jumped clear of the water, landing with a concussion heavy enough to ripple the entire river. For a moment, I thought it was gone, but then 135 the rod was bending again, the tip dancing into the water. Slowly, not making any motion that might alert Sheila, I reached down to tighten the drag. While all this was going on, Sheila had begun talking and it was a few minutes before I was able to catch up with her train of thought. “I went to a party there. These fraternity men. Katherine says I could get 140 in there if I wanted. I’m thinking more of UVM or Bennington. Somewhere I can ski.” The bass was slanting toward the rocks on the New Hampshire side by the ruins of Donaldson’s boathouse. It had to be an old bass—a young one probably wouldn’t have known the rocks were there. I brought the canoe back 145 out into the middle of the river, hoping to head it off. “That’s neat,” I mumbled. “Skiing. Yeah, I can see that.” 9. In the rising action, the “Eric said I have the figure to model, but I thought I should get an story cuts back and forth education first. I mean, it might be a while before I get started and all. I was between the narrator’s thinking of getting my hair styled, more swept back? I mean, Ann-Margret? struggle with the fish and Sheila’s incessant 150 Like hers, only shorter.” talking. How does this She hesitated. “Are we going backwards?” heighten the suspense? We were. I had managed to keep the bass in the middle of the river away from the rocks, but it had plenty of room there, and for the first time a chance to exert its full strength. I quickly computed the weight necessary to draw a 155 fully loaded canoe backwards—the thought of it made me feel faint. “It’s just the current,” I said hoarsely. “No sweat or anything.” I dug in deeper with my paddle. Reassured, Sheila began talking about something else, but all my attention was taken up now with the fish. I could feel its desperation as the water grew shallower. I could sense the extra strain 160 on the line, the frantic way it cut back and forth in the water. I could visualize what it looked like—the gape of its mouth, the flared gills and thick, vertical tail. The bass couldn’t have encountered many forces in its long life that it wasn’t capable of handling, and the unrelenting tug at its mouth must have been a source of great puzzlement and mounting panic. 165 Me, I had problems of my own. To get to Dixford, I had to paddle up a sluggish stream that came into the river beneath a covered bridge. There was a 10. Reread lines 165–168. shallow sandbar at the mouth of this stream—weeds on one side, rocks on the What conflicts are other. Without doubt, this is where I would lose the fish. created by the setting?

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“I have to be careful with my complexion. I tan, but in segments. I can’t 170 figure out if it’s even worth it. I wouldn’t even do it probably. I saw Jackie Kennedy in Boston and she wasn’t tan at all.” Taking a deep breath, I paddled as hard as I could for the middle, deepest part of the bar. I could have threaded the eye of a needle with the canoe, but the pull on the stern threw me off and I overcompensated—the canoe veered 175 left and scraped bottom. I pushed the paddle down and shoved. A moment of hesitation . . . a moment more. . . . The canoe shot clear into the deeper water of the stream. I immediately looked down at the rod. It was bent in the same, tight arc—miraculously, the bass was still on.

he moon was out now. It was low and full enough that its beam shone 180 directly on Sheila there ahead of me in the canoe, washing her in a creamy, luminous glow. I could see the lithe, easy shape of her figure. I could see the way her hair curled down off her shoulders, the proud, alert tilt of her head, and all these things were as a tug on my heart. Not just Sheila, but the aura she carried about her of parties and casual touchings and grace. 185 Behind me, I could feel the strain of the bass, steadier now, growing weaker, and this was another tug on my heart, not just the bass but the beat of the river and the slant of the stars and the smell of the night, until finally it seemed I would be torn apart between longings, split in half. Twenty yards ahead of us was the road, and once I pulled the canoe up on shore, the bass would be gone, 190 irretrievably gone. If instead I stood up, grabbed the rod and started pumping, I would have it—as tired as the bass was, there was no chance it could get away. Close Read I reached down for the rod, hesitated, looked up to where Sheila was stretching 11. Lines 179–195 mark the herself lazily toward the sky, her small breasts rising beneath the soft fabric of story’s climax. Explain her dress, and the tug was too much for me, and quicker than it takes to write what the narrator finally 195 down, I pulled a penknife from my pocket and cut the line in half. chooses to do. Given his With a sick, nauseous feeling in my stomach, I saw the rod unbend. thoughts and actions “My legs are sore,” Sheila whined. “Are we there yet?” in earlier scenes, is this Through a superhuman effort of self-control, I was able to beach the canoe and outcome believable? help Sheila off. The rest of the night is much foggier. We walked to the fair—there Explain. 200 was the smell of popcorn, the sound of guitars. I may have danced once or twice with her, but all I really remember is her coming over to me once the music was 12. The falling action done to explain that she would be going home in Eric Caswell’s Corvette. (lines 196–205) shows “Okay,” I mumbled. what happens after For the first time that night she looked at me, really looked at me. the narrator makes his 205 “You’re a funny kid, you know that?” choice. What are the Funny. Different. Dreamy. Odd. How many times was I to hear that in the effects of his decision? years to come, all spoken with the same quizzical, half-accusatory tone Sheila used then. Poor Sheila! Before the month was over, the spell she cast over me 13. In the resolution (lines was gone, but the memory of that lost bass haunted me all summer and haunts 206–212), the narrator, 210 me still. There would be other Sheila Mants in my life, other fish, and though now older, reflects on I came close once or twice, it was these secret, hidden tuggings in the night his actions. What lesson that claimed me, and I never made the same mistake again. has he learned from his experience?

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VA_L10PE-u01-law.indd 35 3/28/11 10:12:55 AM Before Reading Harrison Bergeron Short Story by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. What if everyone were THE SAME?

Virginia Standards What would the world be like if everyone were the of Learning same—average in intelligence, talents, appearance, and strength— 10.3a Use structural analysis of roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, and no one was better than anyone else? How do you think and cognates to understand complex people would feel and act toward each other? Would they be words. 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary happy and satisfied? Advantages texts. 10.4b Make predictions, Disadvantages draw inferences, and connect prior no more knowledge to support reading BRAINSTORM With your class, brainstorm possible nothing to jealousy comprehension. advantages and disadvantages of a world where live up to everyone is the same—exactly average. Try to generate as many ideas as possible.

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VA_L10PE-u01s1-brHar.indd 36 3/28/11 10:54:42 AM Meet the Author text analysis: plot and conflict The plot of a story is driven by a conflict, or struggle between Kurt Vonnegut Jr. opposing forces. In some stories, the conflict is between 1922–2007 the main character and society. In “Harrison Bergeron,” for Serious Humor example, the title character struggles with U.S. society in the Kurt Vonnegut Jr. was one of the most year 2081. As you read, notice ways in which Harrison and the acclaimed satiric writers in America. After government oppose each other. Follow events to see who working briefly as a journalist, he began writing short stories in the late 1940s and prevails. continued writing stories, novels, dramas, and essays for more than 50 years. His fiction reading skill: draw conclusions deals with sobering topics—war, brutality, When you draw conclusions, you make judgments based on and fear of technology. But Vonnegut writes story details and your own prior knowledge. Use the following with dark humor and elements of fantasy strategies to draw conclusions about the society depicted in and even absurdity, which have given his writing lasting appeal. “Harrison Bergeron”: Voice of Experience • Note what results from the society’s practices and laws. During World War II, Vonnegut was held as • Apply your own knowledge to speculate about the motives a prisoner of war in Dresden, Germany. The of its officials. city was leveled by a fierce firebombing, and the destruction and horror of that event As you read “Harrison Bergeron,” use a chart like the one became the focus of his most famous novel, shown to make notes about the society. Also include your own Slaughterhouse Five. Vonnegut wrote in a thoughts or reactions about the information. preface to the novel that it was about “the inhumanity of many of man’s inventions to Details About Society My Reactions man.” Vonnegut’s early work was not well received by critics, but since the 1970s he has Constitutional amendments make It would be hard to enforce been regarded as a major American writer. everyone equal in every way. equality. My Overall Conclusions background to the story What’s Your Handicap? If you have ever run a footrace or played golf, you might know the sports term handicap. vocabulary in context It refers to a way to even up a game so that Vonnegut uses the following words in relating his futuristic good, average, and poor players can compete as equals. In a footrace, for example, faster tale. To see how many words you already know, substitute runners might handicap themselves by a different word or phrase for each boldfaced term. Write your giving slower runners a head start. In answers in your Reader/Writer Notebook. “Harrison Bergeron,” people are given handicaps in daily life so that no one will be 1. vigilance with the children crossing the street any stronger, smarter, or better looking than 2. wince in pain after the injection anyone else. 3. filled with consternation at the thought 4. cower in the corner Author 5. synchronize our watches Online 6. neutralizing the impact Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-37

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

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VA_L10PE-u01s1-brHar.indd 37 3/28/11 10:54:19 AM Harrison Bergeron Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. vigilance (vGjPE-lEns) Some things about living still weren’t quite right, though. April, for instance, n. alert attention, still drove people crazy by not being springtime. And it was in that clammy watchfulness month that the H-G men took George and Hazel Bergeron’s fourteen-year-old 10 son, Harrison, away. It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn’t think about it very hard. Hazel had a perfectly average intelligence, which meant she couldn’t think about anything except in short bursts. And George, while his intelligence was way above normal, had a little mental handicap radio in his ear. He was required by law to wear it at all times. It was tuned to a government transmitter.1 Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains. a a DRAW CONCLUSIONS George and Hazel were watching television. There were tears on Hazel’s Reread lines 1–17. Cite cheeks, but she’d forgotten for the moment what they were about. specific details that describe society in 2081. 20 On the television screen were ballerinas. What is your opinion of A buzzer sounded in George’s head. His thoughts fled in panic, like bandits the society so far? from a burglar alarm. “That was a real pretty dance, that dance they just did,” said Hazel. “Huh?” said George. “That dance—it was nice,” said Hazel. Examine the image of the “Yup,” said George. He tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They television announcer and weren’t really very good—no better than anybody else would have been, the picture behind him. anyway. They were burdened with sashweights2 and bags of birdshot,3 and What does this painting suggest about television?

1. transmitter: an electronic device for broadcasting radio signals. 2. sashweights: lead weights used in some kinds of windows to keep them from falling shut when raised. 3. birdshot: tiny lead pellets made to be loaded in shotgun shells. Detail of TVTime-Announcer (2002), Charles Foster-Hall. Acrylic on canvas, 16” × 20”, 41cm x 51 cm. © Charles 38 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood Foster-Hall.

VA_L10PE-u01s1-Har.indd 38 3/28/11 10:59:33 AM VA_L10PE-u01s1-Har.indd 39 3/28/11 10:59:08 AM their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a 30 pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in. George was toying with the vague notion that maybe dancers shouldn’t be handicapped. But he didn’t get very far with it before another noise in his ear radio scattered his thoughts. George winced. So did two out of the eight ballerinas. Hazel saw him wince. Having no mental handicap herself, she had to ask wince (wGns) v. to shrink George what the latest sound had been. or flinch involuntarily, “Sounded like somebody hitting a milk bottle with a ball peen hammer,”4 especially in pain said George. “I’d think it would be real interesting, hearing all the different sounds,” said Hazel, a little envious. “All the things they think up.” 40 “Um,” said George. b b DRAW CONCLUSIONS “Only, if I was Handicapper General, you know what I would do?” said How does the society Hazel. Hazel, as a matter of fact, bore a strong resemblance to the Handicapper affect the thoughts and General, a woman named Diana Moon Glampers. “If I was Diana Moon reactions of the people? How does it influence Glampers,” said Hazel, “I’d have chimes on Sunday—just chimes. Kind of in their job performance? honor of religion.” “I could think, if it was just chimes,” said George. “Well—maybe make ’em real loud,” said Hazel. “I think I’d make a good Handicapper General.” “Good as anybody else,” said George. 50 “Who knows better’n I do what normal is?” said Hazel. “Right,” said George. He began to think glimmeringly about his abnormal son who was now in jail, about Harrison, but a twenty-one-gun salute in his head stopped that. c c PLOT AND CONFLICT “Boy!” said Hazel, “that was a doozy, wasn’t it?” George’s thoughts reveal It was such a doozy that George was white and trembling, and tears stood more about the conflict on the rims of his red eyes. Two of the eight ballerinas had collapsed to the between Harrison and the society. On the basis studio floor and were holding their temples. of what you’ve read so “All of a sudden you look so tired,” said Hazel. “Why don’t you stretch out far, what behavior do you on the sofa, so’s you can rest your handicap bag on the pillows, honeybunch.” think might be viewed as abnormal and illegal? 60 She was referring to the forty-seven pounds of birdshot in a canvas bag, which was padlocked around George’s neck. “Go on and rest the bag for a little while,” she said. “I don’t care if you’re not equal to me for a while.” George weighed the bag with his hands. “I don’t mind it,” he said. “I don’t notice it any more. It’s just a part of me.” “You been so tired lately—kind of wore out,” said Hazel. “If there was just some way we could make a little hole in the bottom of the bag, and just take out a few of them lead balls. Just a few.” “Two years in prison and two thousand dollars fine for every ball I took out,” said George. “I don’t call that a bargain.”

4. ball peen hammer: a hammer with a head having one flat side and one rounded side.

40 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s1-Har.indd 40 3/28/11 10:58:55 AM 70 “If you could just take a few out when you came home from work,” said Hazel. “I mean—you don’t compete with anybody around here. You just set around.” “If I tried to get away with it,” said George, “then other people’d get away with it—and pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else. You wouldn’t like that, would you?” “I’d hate it,” said Hazel. “There you are,” said George. “The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?” 80 If Hazel hadn’t been able to come up with an answer to this question, George couldn’t have supplied one. A siren was going off in his head. “Reckon it’d fall all apart,” said Hazel. “What would?” said George blankly. “Society,” said Hazel uncertainly. “Wasn’t that what you just said?” “Who knows?” said George. d d DRAW CONCLUSIONS The television program was suddenly interrupted for a news bulletin. It Reread lines 68–85. What wasn’t clear at first as to what the bulletin was about, since the announcer, like do you think of George’s all announcers, had a serious speech impediment.5 For about half a minute, reasons for not lightening his handicap bag? and in a state of high excitement, the announcer tried to say, “Ladies and 90 gentlemen—” He finally gave up, handed the bulletin to a ballerina to read. “That’s all right—” Hazel said of the announcer, “he tried. That’s the big thing. He tried to do the best he could with what God gave him. He should get a nice raise for trying so hard.” “Ladies and gentlemen—” said the ballerina, reading the bulletin. She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. 10.3a And it was easy to see that she was the strongest and most graceful of all the Language Coach dancers, for her handicap bags were as big as those worn by two-hundred- Antonyms Reread lines pound men. 95–96. An antonym is a word that means the 100 And she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair opposite of another voice for a woman to use. Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody. word. Which word “Excuse me—” she said, and she began again, making her voice absolutely in this sentence is an uncompetitive. antonym for beautiful? “Harrison Bergeron, age fourteen,” she said in a grackle6 squawk, “has just escaped from jail, where he was held on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the government. He is a genius and an athlete, is under-handicapped, and should be regarded as extremely dangerous.” e e PLOT AND CONFLICT A police photograph of Harrison Bergeron was flashed on the screen— Here the rising action upside down, then sideways, upside down again, then right side up. The begins. What more do you learn about the conflict between Harrison and the society?

5. speech impediment (Gm-pDdPE-mEnt): a physical defect that prevents a person from speaking normally. 6. grackle: a blackbird with a harsh, unpleasant call.

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VA_L10PE-u01s1-Har.indd 41 3/28/11 10:58:47 AM TVTime 2 (2002), Charles Foster-Hall. Acrylic on canvas, 16˝ × 28˝, 41 cm x 72 cm. © Charles Foster-Hall.

110 picture showed the full length of Harrison against a background calibrated in feet and inches. He was exactly seven feet tall. The rest of Harrison’s appearance was Halloween and hardware. Nobody How would you describe had ever born heavier handicaps. He had outgrown hindrances faster than the figures watching the H-G men could think them up. Instead of a little ear radio for a mental television? How well do they represent George handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick and Hazel? wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides. Scrap metal was hung all over him. Ordinarily, there was a certain symmetry, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to strong people, but 120 Harrison looked like a walking junkyard. In the race of life, Harrison carried three hundred pounds. And to offset his good looks, the H-G men required that he wear at all times a red rubber ball for a nose, keep his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his even white teeth with black caps at snaggle-tooth random. f f PLOT AND CONFLICT “If you see this boy,” said the ballerina, “do not—I repeat, do not—try to Why has Harrison been reason with him.” so handicapped by the There was the shriek of a door being torn from its hinges. government? Screams and barking cries of consternation came from the television set. consternation The photograph of Harrison Bergeron on the screen jumped again and again, (kJnQstEr-nAPshEn)

130 as though dancing to the tune of an earthquake. n. confused amazement or fear

42 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s1-Har.indd 42 3/28/11 10:58:33 AM George Bergeron correctly identified the earthquake, and well he might g GRAMMAR AND STYLE have—for many was the time his own home had danced to the same crashing Reread line 138. Notice tune. “My God—” said George, “that must be Harrison!” how Vonnegut uses The realization was blasted from his mind instantly by the sound of an the precise adjectives automobile collision in his head. clanking, clownish, and When George could open his eyes again, the photograph of Harrison was huge to create a vivid image of Harrison’s gone. A living, breathing Harrison filled the screen. appearance. Clanking, clownish, and huge, Harrison stood in the center of the studio. g The knob of the uprooted studio door was still in his hand. Ballerinas, 140 technicians, musicians, and announcers cowered on their knees before him, cower (kouPEr) v. to crouch expecting to die. down in fear “I am the Emperor!” cried Harrison. “Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once!” He stamped his foot and the studio shook. “Even as I stand here—” he bellowed, “crippled, hobbled, sickened—I am a greater ruler than any man who ever lived! Now watch me become what I can become!” Harrison tore the straps of his handicap harness like wet tissue paper, tore straps guaranteed to support five thousand pounds. 150 Harrison’s scrap-iron handicaps crashed to the floor. Harrison thrust his thumbs under the bar of the padlock that secured his head harness. The bar snapped like celery. Harrison smashed his headphones and spectacles against the wall. He flung away his rubber-ball nose, revealed a man that would have awed Thor, the god of thunder. “I shall now select my Empress!” he said, looking down on the cowering people. “Let the first woman who dares rise to her feet claim her mate and her throne!” h h PLOT AND CONFLICT A moment passed, and then a ballerina arose, swaying like a willow. Reread lines 142–158. Notice how Harrison views 160 Harrison plucked the mental handicap from her ear, snapped off her himself in relation to other physical handicaps with marvelous delicacy. Last of all, he removed her mask. people. How do his views She was blindingly beautiful. put him in conflict with “Now—” said Harrison, taking her hand, “shall we show the people the the government? meaning of the word dance? Music!” he commanded. The musicians scrambled back into their chairs, and Harrison stripped them of their handicaps, too. “Play your best,” he told them, “and I’ll make you barons and dukes and earls.” The music began. It was normal at first—cheap, silly, false. But Harrison snatched two musicians from their chairs, waved them like batons as he sang 170 the music as he wanted it played. He slammed them back into their chairs. The music began again and was much improved.

harrison bergeron 43

VA_L10PE-u01s1-Har.indd 43 3/28/11 10:58:22 AM Harrison and his Empress merely listened to the music for a while—listened gravely, as though synchronizing their heartbeats with it. synchronize They shifted their weights to their toes. (sGngPkrE-nFzQ) v. to Harrison placed his big hands on the girl’s tiny waist, letting her sense the match the timing of weightlessness that would soon be hers. And then, in an explosion of joy and grace, into the air they sprang! Not only were the laws of the land abandoned, but the law of gravity and the laws of motion as well. 180 They reeled, whirled, swiveled, flounced, capered, gamboled, and spun. They leaped like deer on the moon. The studio ceiling was thirty feet high, but each leap brought the dancers nearer to it. It became their obvious intention to kiss the ceiling. They kissed it. neutralize (nLPtrE-lFzQ) v. to counteract or cancel And then, neutralizing gravity with love and pure will, they remained the effect of suspended in air inches below the ceiling, and they kissed each other for a long, long time. i i DRAW CONCLUSIONS It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came Reread lines 177–188. 190 into the studio with a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun. She fired twice, and What words and phrases the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor. indicate how the narrator views this breaking of Diana Moon Glampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the musicians the laws? and told them they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on. It was then that the Bergerons’ television tube burned out. j j PLOT AND CONFLICT Hazel turned to comment about the blackout to George. But George had How is the conflict gone out into the kitchen for a can of beer. resolved? George came back in with the beer, paused while a handicap signal shook him up. And then he sat down again. “You been crying?” he said to Hazel. “Yup,” she said. 200 “What about?” he said. “I forget,” she said. “Something real sad on television.” “What was it?” he said. “It’s all kind of mixed up in my mind,” said Hazel. “Forget sad things,” said George. “I always do,” said Hazel. “That’s my girl,” said George. He winced. There was the sound of a riveting gun7 in his head. “Gee—I could tell that one was a doozy,” said Hazel. k DRAW CONCLUSIONS Why do George and Hazel “You can say that again,” said George. react this way to their 210 “Gee—” said Hazel, “I could tell that one was a doozy.”m k son’s death?

7. riveting (rGvPG-tGng) gun: a power tool used to hammer bolts (called rivets) that are used in construction work and manufacturing to fasten metal beams or plates together.

44 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s1-Har.indd 44 3/28/11 10:58:13 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall Why does the government handicap George but not Hazel? 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary 2. Recall Why is the government looking for Harrison? texts. 10.4b Make predictions, draw inferences, and connect prior 3. Recall What does the Handicapper General do to Harrison? knowledge to support reading comprehension. 10.4f Examine a literary selection from several critical 4. Clarify Why don’t Harrison’s parents respond with more feeling to perspectives. what they have seen? Text Analysis 5. Analyze Plot and Conflict Summarize the main conflict in “Harrison Bergeron.” How is this conflict resolved? How does the resolution help to make the story successful? 6. Recognize Climax Recall that the climax, or turning point, is the high point of interest and tension in a story. What is the climax of this story? 7. Draw Conclusions Look back at the chart you created as you read. What overall conclusions can you draw about the society depicted in the story? Consider how people must function and what has become “normal.” 8. Interpret Theme What is Vonnegut saying about improving society by makaing everyone average? Support your opinion with evidence from the story. 9. Evaluate Would society have been better off with Harrison in charge? Using a chart like this one, predict the effects of Harrison’s becoming emperor.

Harrison becomes emperor.

10. Synthesize Think about the criticisms of society made in “Harrison Bergeron.” What aspects of today’s society seem open to Vonnegut’s criticisms? Text Criticism 11. Critical Interpretation One critic has argued that Vonnegut portrays television as “a kind of desensitizing, numbing, and clearly thought-stifling, rather than thought-provoking, medium” that is partly responsible for the state of society. Do you agree or disagree? Support your opinion.

What if everyone were THE SAME? Would you be happier if no one were better (or worse) than anyone else?

harrison bergeron 45

VA_L10PE-u01s1-arHar.indd 45 3/28/11 8:54:39 AM Vocabulary in Context word list vocabulary practice consternation Write the letter of the word that is most different in meaning from the others. cower neutralize 1. (a) vigilance, (b) attention, (c) alertness, (d) laziness synchronize 2. (a) grin, (b) flinch, (c) wince, (d) shrink vigilance 3. (a) joy, (b) consternation, (c) happiness, (d) elation wince 4. (a) tower, (b) crouch, (c) cower, (d) cringe 5. (a) time, (b) synchronize, (c) set, (d) separate 6. (a) neutralize, (b) worsen, (c) lessen, (d) decrease academic vocabulary in speaking

• affect • communicate • definite • establish • identify

Identify the social tendencies Vonnegut is warning against in “Harrison Bergeron.” Analyze the flaws of the society he depicts and discuss with a partner what Vonnegut seems to be recommending. Use at least one Academic Vocabulary word in your discussion.

Virginia Standards vocabulary strategy: the greek root syn of Learning The vocabulary word synchronize contains the Greek word root syn, which 10.3a Use structural knowledge of means “together” or “similar.” This root is found in a number of English words. roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, and cognates to understand complex To understand the meaning of words with syn, use context clues as well as words. your knowledge of the root.

synthesize syndrome

syn

synonym synchronize syndicate

PRACTICE Write the word from the word web that best completes each sentence. Use context clues to help you or, if necessary, consult a dictionary or glossary. 1. A _ is a group of symptoms that together indicate a disease. 2. A _ is a word that has the same or a similar meaning to another word. 3. A _ is a company that is made up of different parts, such as a Interactive newspaper, a magazine, and a TV network. Vocabulary 4. Swimmers often _ their movements in an underwater ballet. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-46 5. To _ something is to combine separate elements to form a whole.

46 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s1-arHar.indd 46 3/28/11 8:54:29 AM Virginia Standards Language of Learning grammar and style: Use Precise Language 10.6c Elaborate ideas clearly through Review the Grammar and Style note on page 43. Vonnegut creates effective word choice and vivid description. images, such as the image of Harrison in the TV studio, by using precise adjectives. When describing people, places, and events in your own writing, choose adjectives that allow readers to easily visualize them. Avoid using such adjectives as good and nice, which are too general to give readers a true sense of what is described. Here are two examples of Vonnegut’s use of precise adjectives: She must have been extraordinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous. (lines 95–96) Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody. (line 101) Notice how the revisions in blue make this first draft more descriptive. Revise your own writing by using more precise adjectives.

student model difficult smarter, stronger, and more attractive Harrison Bergeron has a big problem. He’s better than everyone else, and the illegal government says that’s bad.

reading-writing connection YOUR Increase your understanding of “Harrison Bergeron” by responding to this prompt. Then use the revising tip to improve your writing. TURN

writing prompt revising tip

Short Constructed Response: Description Review your response. Imagine that a film version of “Harrison Bergeron” How have you used is being released and you have been assigned precise adjectives to to write a blurb, or brief description, for a local describe the people, newspaper. In one or two paragraphs, describe the places, and events in Interactive Revision plot and conflict in a way that makes people want the film? to see the movie. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-47

harrison bergeron 47

VA_L10PE-u01s1-arHar.indd 47 3/28/11 8:54:20 AM Before Reading Everyday Use Short Story by Alice Walker

VIDEO TRAILER KEYWORD: HML10-48 What makes something VALUABLE?

Virginia Standards The word value means different things to different people. For of Learning example, an old vase might have high monetary value or high 10.3e Identify literal and classical sentimental value. To some, it might have great historical, cultural, allusions and figurative language in text. 10.3g Use knowledge or artistic value. But others might think it’s a useless piece of junk. of the evolution, diversity, and effects of language to comprehend Often people disagree over the value they assign to an object. Or and elaborate the meaning of they may agree that it is valuable, but not for the same reason. texts. 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary texts of different cultures and QUICKWRITE If you could save only one precious possession of yours eras. 10.4b Make predictions, draw inferences, and connect prior from being destroyed or left behind, what would you save? Write a knowledge to support reading short paragraph identifying the item and telling why it is valuable comprehension. to you.

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-brEve.indd 48 3/28/11 9:37:33 AM Meet the Author text analysis: conflict and character A story’s plot progresses because of a conflict, or struggle Alice Walker between opposing forces. In “Everyday Use,” the main conflict born 1944 centers around two sisters, Dee and Maggie, and their mother, A Humble Start who narrates the story. Although the main conflict between Alice Walker, one of America’s most these characters is worked out in the resolution of the story, distinguished authors, comes from humble some other conflicts linger unresolved. beginnings. She was the last of eight children born to sharecroppers Willie Lee As you read, pay attention to the conflicts and whether they and Minnie Tallulah Walker. Though money are resolved. Also think about the differences in the characters’ was scarce and life was hard, Walker loved values and priorities. the Georgia countryside where she grew up. Walker’s childhood was shattered by a Review: Plot shooting accident when she was eight. She lost sight in one eye and had a disfiguring reading skill: make inferences scar that left her intensely self-conscious. For Because writers don’t always tell you everything you need to years afterward, she felt like an outcast. know about a character, you must make inferences, or logical Travel, Activism, and Fame guesses, based on story details and your own experiences. For Walker took comfort in reading and in writing example, you might infer that the mother in this story prefers poetry. With her mother’s encouragement, the outdoors from her comment “A yard like this is more she developed her talent for writing and did comfortable than most people know. . . . It is like an extended well in school. She graduated at the head of her high school class and received a college living room.” As you read, notice what the characters’ words scholarship. During college, she became and actions tell you about their personalities and attitudes. involved in the civil rights movement and Take notes on a chart like the one shown. traveled to Africa as an exchange student. After college, she devoted herself to writing Story Details Inferences and social activism. She has written more Dee thinks orchids are tacky is pretentious than 20 books, including The Color Purple, flowers which won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983.

Mama background to the story Black Pride “Everyday Use” takes place during the Maggie 1960s, when many African Americans were discovering their heritage. The “black pride” movement, which grew out of civil rights campaigns, called upon African Americans vocabulary in context to celebrate their African roots and affirm Figure out the meaning of each boldfaced word from the their cultural identity. Many adopted African context. In your Reader/Writer Notebook, write a sentence clothing, hairstyles, and names; some studied that shows your understanding of each word. African languages. 1. sneaky, furtive behavior 2. need time to recompose after your outburst Author 3. accept the club’s doctrine Online 4. remember your heritage when you leave home Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-49

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-brEve.indd 49 3/28/11 9:37:12 AM Everyday Alice Walker Use

I will wait for her in the yard that Maggie and I made so clean and wavy yesterday afternoon. A yard like this is more comfortable than most people know. It is not just a yard. It is like an extended living room. When the hard What qualities do you clay is swept clean as a floor and the fine sand around the edges lined with tiny, associate with the irregular grooves, anyone can come and sit and look up into the elm tree and woman in the painting? wait for the breezes that never come inside the house. How closely does she Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in match the story’s corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her narrator? sister with a mixture of envy and awe. She thinks her sister has held life always in 10 the palm of one hand, that “no” is a word the world never learned to say to her. a a MAKE INFERENCES Reread lines 7–10. What You’ve no doubt seen those TV shows where the child who has “made it” is can you infer about confronted, as a surprise, by her own mother and father, tottering in weakly Maggie and her sister from this description? from backstage. (A pleasant surprise, of course: What would they do if parent Which details led to and child came on the show only to curse out and insult each other?) On TV your inference? mother and child embrace and smile into each other’s faces. Sometimes the mother and father weep, the child wraps them in her arms and leans across the table to tell how she would not have made it without their help. I have seen these programs. Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought 20 together on a TV program of this sort. Out of a dark and soft-seated limousine I am ushered into a bright room filled with many people. There I meet a smiling, gray, sporty man like Johnny Carson who shakes my hand and tells me what a fine girl I have. Then we are on the stage and Dee is embracing me with tears in her eyes. She pins on my dress a large orchid, even though she has told me once that she thinks orchids are tacky flowers. In real life I am a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands. In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day. I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man. My fat keeps me hot in zero weather. I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing; I can Home Chores (1945), Jacob Lawrence. Gouache and graphite on paper, 30 eat pork liver cooked over the open fire minutes after it comes steaming from 1 1 29 /2˝ × 21 /16˝. Anonymous gift. The the hog. One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri. F69-6. Photo by Jamison Miller © 2008 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle/Artists 50 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood Rights Society (ARS), New York.

VA_L10PE-u01s2-Eve.indd 50 3/28/11 9:59:45 AM VA_L10PE-u01s2-Eve.indd 51 3/28/11 9:59:25 AM eyes with a sledge hammer and had the meat hung up to chill before nightfall. But of course all this does not show on television. I am the way my daughter would want me to be: a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancake. My hair glistens in the hot bright lights. Johnny Carson has much to do to keep up with my quick and witty tongue. But that is a mistake. I know even before I wake up. Who ever knew a Johnson with a quick tongue? Who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye? It seems to me I have talked to them always with one 40 foot raised in flight, with my head turned in whichever way is farthest from them. Dee, though. She would always look anyone in the eye. Hesitation was no part of her nature. b b MAKE INFERENCES What do you infer “How do I look, Mama?” Maggie says, showing just enough of her thin body about Mama from her enveloped in pink skirt and red blouse for me to know she’s there, almost description of herself? Cite specific details. hidden by the door.

Little Sweet (1944), William H. Johnson. Oil on paperboard, 28˝ × 22˝. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Photo © Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C./Art Resource, New York.

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-Eve.indd 52 3/28/11 9:58:49 AM “Come out into the yard,” I say. Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks. She has been like this, 50 chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground. Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure. She’s a woman now, though sometimes I forget. How long ago was it that the other house burned? Ten, twelve years? Sometimes I can still hear the flames and feel Maggie’s arms sticking to me, her hair smoking and her dress falling off her 10.3g in little black papery flakes. Her eyes seemed stretched open, blazed open by Language Coach the flames reflected in them. And Dee. I see her standing off under the sweet Informal language gum tree she used to dig gum out of; a look of concentration on her face as she Reread the paragraph that begins with line 52. watched the last dingy gray board of the house fall in toward the red-hot brick Walker uses sentence 60 chimney. Why don’t you do a dance around the ashes? I’d wanted to ask her. fragments such as “Ten, She had hated the house that much. twelve years?” and I used to think she hated Maggie, too. But that was before we raised the “And Dee.” to create an money, the church and me, to send her to Augusta1 to school. She used to read informal tone. What other fragments do you to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us see on this page? [Hint: two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice. She washed us in a look for sentences that river of make-believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn’t necessarily lack either a subject or need to know. Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away a verb.] at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to understand. Dee wanted nice things. A yellow organdy dress to wear to her graduation 70 from high school; black pumps to match a green suit she’d made from an old suit somebody gave me. She was determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts. Her eyelids would not flicker for minutes at a time. Often I fought off the temptation to shake her. At sixteen she had a style of her own: and knew what style was. c c CONFLICT Reread lines 52–74. What I never had an education myself. After second grade the school was closed conflicts exist between down. Don’t ask me why: in 1927 colored asked fewer questions than they Dee and her mother and sister? do now. Sometimes Maggie reads to me. She stumbles along good-naturedly but can’t see well. She knows she is not bright. Like good looks and money, quickness passed her by. She will marry John Thomas (who has mossy teeth 80 in an earnest face) and then I’ll be free to sit here and I guess just sing church songs to myself. Although I never was a good singer. Never could carry a tune. I was always better at a man’s job. I used to love to milk till I was hooked in the side in ’49. Cows are soothing and slow and don’t bother you, unless you try to milk them the wrong way. I have deliberately turned my back on the house. It is three rooms, just like the one that burned, except the roof is tin; they don’t make shingle roofs any more. There are no real windows, just some holes cut in the sides, like the portholes in a ship, but not round and not square, with rawhide holding the

1. Augusta: a city in Georgia.

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-Eve.indd 53 3/28/11 9:58:33 AM shutters up on the outside. This house is in a pasture, too, like the other one. 90 No doubt when Dee sees it she will want to tear it down. She wrote me once that no matter where we “choose” to live, she will manage to come see us. But she will never bring her friends. Maggie and I thought about this and Maggie asked me, “Mama, when did Dee ever have any friends?” She had a few. Furtive boys in pink shirts hanging about on washday after furtive (fûrPtGv) adj. school. Nervous girls who never laughed. Impressed with her they worshiped sneaky, secretive the well-turned phrase, the cute shape, the scalding humor that erupted like bubbles in lye. She read to them. recompose (rCQkEm-pIzP) When she was courting Jimmy T she didn’t have much time to pay to us, but v. to restore to calm, to settle again turned all her faultfinding power on him. He flew to marry a cheap city girl from 100 a family of ignorant flashy people. She hardly had time to recompose herself. d d MAKE INFERENCES What do you learn about When she comes I will meet—but there they are! Dee from the way others Maggie attempts to make a dash for the house, in her shuffling way, but I respond to her? stay her with my hand. “Come back here,” I say. And she stops and tries to dig a well in the sand with her toe. It is hard to see them clearly through the strong sun. But even the first glimpse of leg out of the car tells me it is Dee. Her feet were always neat- looking, as if God himself had shaped them with a certain style. From the other side of the car comes a short, stocky man. Hair is all over his head a foot long and hanging from his chin like a kinky mule tail. I hear Maggie suck in 110 her breath. “Uhnnnh,” is what it sounds like. Like when you see the wriggling end of a snake just in front of your foot on the road. “Uhnnnh.” Dee next. A dress down to the ground, in this hot weather. A dress so loud 10.3e it hurts my eyes. There are yellows and oranges enough to throw back the light of the sun. I feel my whole face warming from the heat waves it throws out. e FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Earrings gold, too, and hanging down to her shoulders. Bracelets dangling and Figurative language making noises when she moves her arm up to shake the folds of the dress out is language that of her armpits. The dress is loose and flows, and as she walks closer, I like it. communicates I hear Maggie go “Uhnnnh” again. It is her sister’s hair. It stands straight up meanings beyond the literal meanings of the like the wool on a sheep. It is black as night and around the edges are two long words. Reread Mama’s 120 pigtails that rope about like small lizards disappearing behind her ears. e description of Dee’s hair, “Wa-su-zo-Tean-o!” she says, coming on in that gliding way the dress makes which begins on line her move. The short stocky fellow with the hair to his navel is all grinning 118. Obviously, Dee’s hair and he follows up with “Asalamalakim,2 my mother and sister!” He moves to does not literally move like lizards. Here and hug Maggie but she falls back, right up against the back of my chair. I feel her in other places, Mama trembling there and when I look up I see the perspiration falling off her chin. evokes images from her “Don’t get up,” says Dee. Since I am stout it takes something of a push. life spent on a farm. Her You can see me trying to move a second or two before I make it. She turns, figurative language often reflects the historical showing white heels through her sandals, and goes back to the car. Out she and cultural setting of peeks next with a Polaroid. She stoops down quickly and lines up picture after the story. What other 130 picture of me sitting there in front of the house with Maggie cowering behind examples of figurative me. She never takes a shot without making sure the house is included. When language can you find?

2. Wa-su-zo-Tean-o! (wä-sLQzI-tCPnI) . . . Asalamalakim! (E-sBlQE-mE-lBkPEm): African and Arabic greetings.

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-Eve.indd 54 3/28/11 9:58:24 AM Contrast the style and subject of this painting with those of the one on page 52. Does the contrast reflect the differences between the sisters in the story? Explain.

Portrait of a woman with golden headscarf (1900s), Attributed to Lo Babacar. Pikine, Senegal. Glass painting. Inv.:A.94.4.33 Musée des Arts d’Afrique et d’Oceanie, Paris. Photo © Arnaudet/ Réunion des Musées Nationaux/ Art Resource, New York.

a cow comes nibbling around the edge of the yard she snaps it and me and Maggie and the house. Then she puts the Polaroid in the back seat of the car, and comes up and kisses me on the forehead. f f GRAMMAR AND STYLE

Meanwhile Asalamalakim is going through motions with Maggie’s hand. Reread lines 131–134. Maggie’s hand is as limp as a fish, and probably as cold, despite the sweat, and Notice how Walker she keeps trying to pull it back. It looks like Asalamalakim wants to shake adds descriptive details through the use of hands but wants to do it fancy. Or maybe he don’t know how people shake prepositional phrases hands. Anyhow, he soon gives up on Maggie. such as “around the edge 140 “Well,” I say. “Dee.” of the yard,” “in the back “No, Mama,” she says. “Not ‘Dee,’ Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo!”3 seat of the car,” and “on “What happened to ‘Dee’?” I wanted to know. the forehead.” “She’s dead,” Wangero said. “I couldn’t bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me.” “You know as well as me you was named after your aunt Dicie,” I said. Dicie is my sister. She named Dee. We called her “Big Dee” after Dee was born. “But who was she named after?” asked Wangero. “I guess after Grandma Dee,” I said. “And who was she named after?” asked Wangero.

3. Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (wän-gârPI lC-wä-nCPkE kD-mänPjI).

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-Eve.indd 55 3/28/11 9:58:12 AM 150 “Her mother,” I said, and saw Wangero was getting tired. “That’s about as far back as I can trace it,” I said. Though, in fact, I probably could have carried it back beyond the Civil War through the branches. g g CONFLICT “Well,” said Asalamalakim, “there you are.” What is causing tension “Uhnnnh,” I heard Maggie say. between Dee and Mama? “There I was not,” I said, “before ‘Dicie’ cropped up in our family, so why should I try to trace it that far back?” He just stood there grinning, looking down on me like somebody inspecting a Model A4 car. Every once in a while he and Wangero sent eye signals over my head. 160 “How do you pronounce this name?” I asked. “You don’t have to call me by it if you don’t want to,” said Wangero. “Why shouldn’t I?” I asked. “If that’s what you want us to call you, we’ll call you.” “I know it might sound awkward at first,” said Wangero. “I’ll get used to it,” I said. “Ream it out again.” Well, soon we got the name out of the way. Asalamalakim had a name twice as long and three times as hard. After I tripped over it two or three times he told me to just call him Hakim-a-barber.5 I wanted to ask him was he a barber, but I didn’t really think he was, so I didn’t ask. 170 “You must belong to those beef-cattle peoples down the road,” I said. They said “Asalamalakim” when they met you, too, but they didn’t shake hands. Always too busy: feeding the cattle, fixing the fences, putting up salt-lick shelters, throwing down hay. When the white folks poisoned some of the herd the men stayed up all night with rifles in their hands. I walked a mile and a half just to see the sight. Hakim-a-barber said, “I accept some of their doctrines, but farming and doctrine (dJkPtrGn) n. a set raising cattle is not my style.” (They didn’t tell me, and I didn’t ask, whether of rules, beliefs, or values Wangero (Dee) had really gone and married him.) held by a group We sat down to eat and right away he said he didn’t eat collards and pork 180 was unclean. Wangero, though, went on through the chitlins and corn bread, the greens and everything else. She talked a blue streak over the sweet potatoes. Everything delighted her. Even the fact that we still used the benches her daddy made for the table when we couldn’t afford to buy chairs. “Oh, Mama!” she cried. Then turned to Hakim-a-barber. “I never knew how lovely these benches are. You can feel the rump prints,” she said, running her hands underneath her and along the bench. Then she gave a sigh and her hand closed over Grandma Dee’s butter dish. “That’s it!” she said. “I knew there was something I wanted to ask you if I could have.” She jumped up from the table and went over in the corner where the churn stood, the milk in it 190 clabber6 by now. She looked at the churn and looked at it.

4. Model A: an automobile manufactured by Ford from 1927 to 1931. 5. Hakim-a-barber (hä-kCPmE-bärQbEr). 6. clabber: curdled milk.

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-Eve.indd 56 3/28/11 9:57:59 AM “This churn top is what I need,” she said. “Didn’t Uncle Buddy whittle it out of a tree you all used to have?” “Yes,” I said. “Uh huh,” she said happily. “And I want the dasher,7 too.” “Uncle Buddy whittle that, too?” asked the barber. Dee (Wangero) looked up at me. “Aunt Dee’s first husband whittled the dash,” said Maggie so low you almost couldn’t hear her. “His name was Henry, but they called him Stash.” “Maggie’s brain is like an elephant’s,” Wangero said, laughing. “I can use the 200 churn top as a centerpiece for the alcove table,” she said, sliding a plate over the churn, “and I’ll think of something artistic to do with the dasher.” h h MAKE INFERENCES When she finished wrapping the dasher the handle stuck out. I took it for Reread lines 191–201. a moment in my hands. You didn’t even have to look close to see where hands What do you learn about pushing the dasher up and down to make butter had left a kind of sink in the Dee and Maggie in these lines? wood. In fact, there were a lot of small sinks; you could see where thumbs and fingers had sunk into the wood. It was beautiful light yellow wood, from a tree that grew in the yard where Big Dee and Stash had lived. After dinner Dee (Wangero) went to the trunk at the foot of my bed and started rifling through it. Maggie hung back in the kitchen over the dishpan. 210 Out came Wangero with two quilts. They had been pieced by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and me had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted them. One was in the Lone Star pattern. The other was Walk Around the Mountain. In both of them were scraps of dresses Grandma Dee had worn fifty and more years ago. Bits and pieces of Grandpa Jarrell’s Paisley shirts. And one teeny faded blue piece, about the size of a penny matchbox, that was from Great Grandpa Ezra’s uniform that he wore in the Civil War. “Mama,” Wangero said sweet as a bird. “Can I have these old quilts?” I heard something fall in the kitchen, and a minute later the kitchen door 220 slammed. i i Make Inferences “Why don’t you take one or two of the others?” I asked. “These old things What might these noises was just done by me and Big Dee from some tops your grandma pieced before mean? she died.” “No,” said Wangero. “I don’t want those. They are stitched around the borders by machine.” “That’ll make them last better,” I said. “That’s not the point,” said Wangero. “These are all pieces of dresses Grandma used to wear. She did all this stitching by hand. Imagine!” She held the quilts securely in her arms, stroking them. 230 “Some of the pieces, like those lavender ones, come from old clothes her mother handed down to her,” I said, moving up to touch the quilts. Dee (Wangero) moved back just enough so that I couldn’t reach the quilts. They already belonged to her. “Imagine!” she breathed again, clutching them closely to her bosom.

7. dasher: the plunger of a churn, a device formerly used to stir cream or milk to produce butter.

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-Eve.indd 57 3/28/11 9:57:51 AM Crazy Quilt (1883-1893), Victoriene Parsons Mitchell. Textile. 195.6 cm x 163.2 cm. © Indianapolis Museum of Art/ Bridgeman Art Library.

“The truth is,” I said, “I promised to give them quilts to Maggie, for when she marries John Thomas.” She gasped like a bee had stung her. “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts!” she said. “She’d probably be backward enough to put them to everyday use.” 240 “I reckon she would,” I said. “God knows I been saving ’em for long enough with nobody using ’em. I hope she will!” I didn’t want to bring up how I had offered Dee (Wangero) a quilt when she went away to college. Then she had told me they were old-fashioned, out of style.

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-Eve.indd 58 3/28/11 9:57:41 AM “But they’re priceless!” she was saying now, furiously; for she has a temper. “Maggie would put them on the bed and in five years they’d be in rags. Less than that!” “She can always make some more,” I said. “Maggie knows how to quilt.” Dee (Wangero) looked at me with hatred. “You just will not understand. The point is these quilts, these quilts!” 250 “Well,” I said, stumped. “What would you do with them?” “Hang them,” she said. As if that was the only thing you could do with quilts. j j CONFLICT Maggie by now was standing in the door. I could almost hear the sound her Reread lines 238–252. Why feet made as they scraped over each other. doesn’t Dee want Maggie “She can have them, Mama,” she said, like somebody used to never winning to have the quilts? anything, or having anything reserved for her. “I can ’member Grandma Dee without the quilts.” I looked at her hard. She had filled her bottom lip with checkerberry snuff and it gave her face a kind of dopey, hangdog look. It was Grandma Dee and 260 Big Dee who taught her how to quilt herself. She stood there with her scarred hands hidden in the folds of her skirt. She looked at her sister with something like fear but she wasn’t mad at her. This was Maggie’s portion. This was the way she knew God to work. When I looked at her like that something hit me in the top of my head and ran down to the soles of my feet. Just like when I’m in church and the spirit of God touches me and I get happy and shout. I did something I never had done before: hugged Maggie to me, then dragged her on into the room, snatched the quilts out of Miss Wangero’s hands and dumped them into Maggie’s lap. Maggie just sat there on my bed with her mouth open. k k Plot 270 “Take one or two of the others,” I said to Dee. This point is the climax But she turned without a word and went out to Hakim-a-barber. of the story. How is the “You just don’t understand,” she said, as Maggie and I came out to the car. main conflict resolved? “What don’t I understand?” I wanted to know. heritage (hDrPG-tGj) n. “Your heritage,” she said. And then she turned to Maggie, kissed her, and something passed down said, “You ought to try to make something of yourself, too, Maggie. It’s really a through generations, new day for us. But from the way you and Mama still live you’d never such as tradition, values, property know it.” l She put on some sunglasses that hide everything above the tip of her nose l Conflict and her chin. How does Dee view her 280 Maggie smiled; maybe at the sunglasses. But a real smile, not scared. After mother and sister? we watched the car dust settle I asked Maggie to bring me a dip of snuff. And then the two of us sat there just enjoying, until it was time to go in the house and go to bed. m

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-Eve.indd 59 3/28/11 9:57:23 AM Reading for Information INTERVIEW Excerpted is a 1992 interview Walker gave to Roland R. Freeman for his book A Communion of the Spirits: African-American Quilters, Preservers, and Their Stories.

Alice Walker} on Quilting

Well, my mother was a quilter, and I This yellow and black fabric I bought when I was remember many, many afternoons of my mother in Uganda, and I had a beautiful dress made of and the neighborhood women sitting on the it that I wore and wore and wore and eventually porch around the quilting frame, quilting and I couldn’t wear it any more; partly I had worn it talking, you know; getting up to stir something out and also I was pregnant, so it didn’t fit, and I on the stove and coming back and sitting down. used that and I used the red and white and black, My mother also had a which was a long, floor- frame inside the house. length dress that I had Sometimes during the when I was pregnant winter she would quilt with my daughter, and she often pieced Rebecca, who is now quilts. Piecing . . . I’m twenty-three. I took really more of a piecer, these things apart or I actually, than I am a used scraps. I put them quilter, because I can together in this quilt, get as far as piecing all because it just seemed of the little squares or perfect. Mississippi was sections together, and full of political and sometimes putting social struggle, and them together into regular quilts were all big blocks, but then African American with I always have to call emphasis on being here in help—spreading it in the United States. But out on the frame, or because of the African spreading it out on the consciousness that was floor and putting the being raised and the way batting in and doing Alice Walker among her many quilts that we were all wearing the actual quilting. our hair in naturals and [The first quilt] I worked on [was] the In Love wearing all of these African dresses, I felt the need and Trouble quilt. And I did that one when I was to blend these two traditions. So it’s a quilt of living in Mississippi. It was during a period when great memory and importance to me. I use it a lot we were wearing African-inspired dresses. So all of and that’s why it’s so worn. the pieces are from dresses that I actually wore.

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-c1Qui.indd 60 3/28/11 9:12:26 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall How has Dee changed when she arrives to see her family? 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary 2. Recall Why does Dee want the quilts? texts of different cultures and eras. 10.4b Make predictions, 3. Recall Who gets the quilts at the end of the story? draw inferences, and connect prior knowledge to support reading comprehension. 10.4f Examine a 4. Summarize Why does Dee think Mama and Maggie don’t understand literary selection from several critical their heritage? perspectives. Text Analysis 5. Make Inferences Review the notes you took as you read. What positive and negative traits does each character have? 6. Compare and Contrast What makes the quilts valuable to Dee, and what makes them valuable to Maggie? Cite evidence. 7. Analyze Plot Reread lines 264–269. Explain why Mama makes the choice she does at the climax of the story. How does she feel about her choice? 8. Analyze Conflict Use the chart shown to explore the various ways that Dee is in conflict with her family. Which conflicts are resolved and which are not? want Maggie to wants quilts have quilts

Dee Mama Maggie

9. Interpret Theme What do you think Alice Walker is saying in “Everyday Use” about the nature of heritage? Support your answer. 10. Synthesize How do Walker’s comments about quilting on page 60 affect your understanding of “Everyday Use”? Text Criticism 11. Historical Context The story takes place in the late 1960s, a time of growing cultural awareness for African Americans. If the story were set in the present, would the conflicts within the family be different? Explain your answer.

What makes something VALUABLE? Why might people disagree over why an object is valuable?

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-arEve.indd 61 3/28/11 9:08:11 AM Vocabulary in Context word list vocabulary practice doctrine Write True or False for each statement. furtive heritage 1. Sneaking around is an example of furtive behavior. recompose 2. When you recompose after a traffic accident, you become more agitated. 3. To believe in a certain group’s doctrine is to follow their set rules. 4. If you deny your heritage, you refuse to acknowledge your cultural history. academic vocabulary in writing

• affect • communicate • definite • establish • identify

Analyze how Dee and Maggie communicate their thoughts and feelings in this story. Notice both verbal communication (what they say, how they say it) and nonverbal communication (their facial expressions, gestures, and body language). Write one or two paragraphs to share your findings. Use at least one Academic Vocabulary word in your discussion.

Virginia Standards vocabulary strategy: the prefix re- of Learning The vocabulary word recompose contains the Latin prefix re-, which means 10.3a Use structural analysis of “again” or “back.” This prefix is found in a number of English words. To roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, and cognates to understand complex understand the meaning of words with re-, use your knowledge of the base words. word as well as your knowledge of the prefix.

recompose reboot

re-

reaffirm recall

review

PRACTICE Write the word from the word web that best completes each sentence. Use context clues to help you or, if necessary, consult a dictionary. 1. To celebrate their anniversary, the couple decided to ______their marriage vows. 2. She tried to ______herself after her harsh scolding. Interactive 3. You need to ______the computer after installing new software. Vocabulary 4. The toy company issued a ______on a toy truck with dangerous parts. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-62 5. Be sure to ______your paper for spelling mistakes before submitting it.

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-arEve.indd 62 3/28/11 9:08:01 AM Virginia Standards Language of Learning grammar and style: Add Descriptive Details 10.6 The student will develop a Review the note on page 55. By incorporating variety of writing to persuade, Grammar and Style prepositional interpret, analyze, and evaluate phrases into your writing, as Alice Walker does, you can add important details with an emphasis on exposition and analysis. 10.6d Write clear and that show what, when, where, and how events are taking place. Here is an varied sentences, clarifying ideas example from the story. with precise and relevant evidence. After dinner Dee (Wangero) went to the trunk at the foot of my bed and started rifling through it. Maggie hung back in the kitchen over the dishpan. Out came Wangero with two quilts. They had been pieced by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee and me had hung them on the quilt frames on the front porch and quilted them. (lines 208–212) See how the revisions in blue add important descriptive details to this first draft. Revise your own writing by using these techniques.

student model on the cheek at Mama Mama walks over to Dee and gives her a kiss. Dee frowns and with a handkerchief on the bench wipes off the kiss. She crosses the room and sits down heavily.

reading-writing connection YOUR Deepen your understanding of “Everyday Use” by responding to this prompt. Then use the revising tip to improve your writing. TURN

writing prompt revising tip

Extended Constructed Response: Story Sequel Review your response. Imagine that Dee visits the family again ten years How have you used after the events in “Everyday Use.” Write one page prepositional phrases showing what she, Mama, and Maggie are now like that show what, when, and how they interact. What conflicts between where, and how events Interactive Revision them are still unresolved? take place in your story sequel? Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-63

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VA_L10PE-u01s2-arEve.indd 63 3/28/11 9:07:51 AM Before Reading Searching for Summer Short Story by Joan Aiken

What do you take for GRANTED?

Virginia Standards There are many things in life that we assume will always be there. of Learning Air and water are two. But what if they disappeared? You’ve 10.3c Discriminate between connotative and denotative probably heard the saying “You never miss the water until the well meanings and interpret the runs dry.” That means that we don’t have appreciation for certain connotation. 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze things until they’re gone or scarce. “Searching for Summer” is set in literary texts of different cultures a world that is missing something else we all take for granted. and eras. 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s specific word choices, syntax, tone, and voice shape the DISCUSS Conduct an informal class survey, asking each Things We Take for intended meaning of the text, achieve special effects and support person to name an everyday thing that is taken for Granted the author’s purpose. 10.4m Use 1. Air reading strategies to monitor granted. Choose the item mentioned most often, and comprehension throughout the as a class, discuss what you would do if this thing 2. Water reading process. were suddenly gone or in short supply.

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VA_L10PE-u01s3-brSea.indd 64 4/7/11 12:07:24 PM Meet the Author text analysis: setting and mood A story may have more than one setting, and each setting Joan Aiken may convey a different mood, or atmosphere. Imagine, for 1924–2004 example, the emotional atmosphere in a gym packed with Literary Fathers students watching their team winning an important game. Joan Aiken (APkEn) grew up in England in a Shouts, cheers, upbeat music, exciting plays—all these sights literary household. Her father, Conrad Aiken, and sounds would create a mood of excitement and joyous was an American poet, and her stepfather, Martin Armstrong, was a fiction writer. At anticipation. Now imagine how the mood would change if a an early age, she decided to follow in their character walked out of the gym into a long, dark, deserted footsteps. hallway. To understand the relationship between the setting A Writer’s Life and the mood in a story, think about In 1945 Aiken met and married journalist • the sensory language that tells what a place is like Ronald Brown. That same year, she began publishing poems and stories in magazines. • the feelings conveyed by that language Her first book for young adults, All You’ve In “Searching for Summer,” you’ll encounter two very different Ever Wanted and Other Stories, appeared in 1953. About two years later, her husband settings. As you read, notice the descriptions of each setting died. To support herself and her two children, and think about the mood those details convey. she worked as an editor for Argosy, a short Review: Conflict story magazine, but continued to write at home. Her 1962 children’s novel The Wolves of Willoughby Chase was a hit with critics reading strategy: monitor and readers alike, enabling her to become When you monitor, you check to make sure you understand a full-time writer. Aiken followed up with what you are reading. If you don’t understand a story, you many other successful novels, including Black may have to read more slowly, reread passages, or read aloud. Hearts in Battersea and The Whispering Jot down any questions you have about the story’s setting, Mountain. Though she is most often remembered as an author for young people, characters, and events, and then answer them as you read readers of all ages enjoy her stories. further. Use a chart like the one shown. Additional monitoring questions are provided to help you clarify your understanding. background to the story Nuclear Anxiety My Questions My Answers Aiken wrote “Searching for Summer” in Why were the bombs banned? probably because they caused too the 1950s, setting the story in a future much destruction “eighties”—perhaps the 1980s or 2080s. When the story was published, nuclear disaster was an ever-present threat. New vocabulary in context nuclear weapons were being tested, and radioactive fallout rained down from the Classify the vocabulary words into three categories: “Words I sky, polluting the environment. Know Well,” “Words I Think I Know,” and “Words I Don’t Know at All.” Write a short definition in your Reader/Writer Notebook Author for words in the first two categories. After you read this short Online story, correct your definitions if necessary and define the new Go to thinkcentral.com. words you learn. KEYWORD: HML10-65 1. unavailing 2. disengage 3. rudimentary 4. wizened 5. voluble 6. commiserate 7. savoring 8. indomitable

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

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VA_L10PE-u01s3-brSea.indd 65 3/28/11 10:03:38 AM s e a r c h i n g f o r

ummerJoan Aiken

Lily wore yellow on her wedding day. In the eighties people put a lot of faith in omens and believed that if a bride’s dress was yellow her married life would be blessed with a bit of sunshine. How would you describe It was years since the bombs had been banned, but still the cloud never the mood of this painting? What qualities lifted. Whitish gray, day after day, sometimes darkening to a weeping slate contribute to the mood? color or, at the end of an evening, turning to smoky copper, the sky endlessly, secretively brooded. Old people began their stories with the classic, fairy-tale opening: “Long, long ago, when I was a liddle un, in the days when the sky was blue …” and 10 children, listening, chuckled among themselves at the absurd thought, because, blue, imagine it! How could the sky ever have been blue? You might as well say, “In the days when the grass was pink.” Stars, rainbows, and all other such heavenly sideshows had been permanently withdrawn, and if the radio announced that there was a blink of sunshine in such and such a place, where the cloud belt had thinned for half unavailing (OnQE-vAPlGng) an hour, cars and buses would pour in that direction for days in an unavailing adj. useless, ineffective search for warmth and light. a a monitor After the wedding, when all the relations were standing on the church Reread lines 8–17. How porch, with Lily shivering prettily in her buttercup nylon, her father prodded have the sky and climate changed, and why? 20 the dour and withered grass on a grave—although it was August, the leaves were hardly out yet—and said, “Well, Tom, what are you aiming to do now, eh?” “Going to find a bit of sun and have our honeymoon in it,” said Tom. There was a general laugh from the wedding party. “Don’t get sunburned,” shrilled Aunt Nancy. “Better start off Bournemouth1 way. Paper said they had a half-hour of sun last Wednesday week,” Uncle Arthur weighed in heavily.

1. Bournemouth (bôrnPmEth): a British seaside resort.

Old Willow Lane 2, Mary Iverson. 66 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood Oil on canvas, 11˝ × 8˝. © Mary Iverson/Corbis.

VA_L10PE-u01s3-Sea.indd 66 3/28/11 9:31:49 AM VA_L10PE-u01s3-Sea.indd 67 3/28/11 9:31:28 AM “We’ll come back brown as—as this grass,” said Tom, and ignoring the good-natured teasing from their respective families, the two young people 30 mounted on their scooter, which stood ready at the churchyard wall, and chugged away in a shower of golden confetti. When they were out of sight, and the yellow paper had subsided on the gray and gritty road, the Whitemores and the Hoskinses strolled off, sighing, to eat wedding cake and drink currant2 wine, and old Mrs. Hoskins spoiled everyone’s pleasure by bursting into tears as she thought of her own wedding day when everything was so different. Meanwhile Tom and Lily buzzed on hopefully across the gray countryside, with Lily’s veil like a gilt banner floating behind. It was chilly going for her in her wedding things, but the sight of a bride was supposed to bring good luck, and so she stuck it out, although her fingers were blue to the knuckles. 40 Every now and then they switched on their portable radio and listened to the forecast. Inverness had seen the sun for ten minutes yesterday, and Southend3 for five minutes this morning, but that was all. b b setting and mood “Both those places are a long way from here,” said Tom cheerfully. “All the Reread lines 28–42. Note more reason we’d find a nice bit of sunshine in these parts somewhere. We’ll how the countryside keep on going south. Keep your eyes peeled, Lil, and tell me if you see a blink looks and feels. What mood is created by this of sun on those hills ahead.” description? But they came to the hills and passed them, and a new range shouldered up ahead and then slid away behind, and still there was no flicker or patch of sunshine to be seen anywhere in the gray, winter-ridden landscape. Lily began 50 to get discouraged, so they stopped for a cup of tea at a drive-in. “Seen the sun lately, mate?” Tom asked the proprietor. He laughed shortly. “Notice any buses or trucks around here? Last time I saw the sun was two years ago September; came out just in time for the wife’s birthday.” c c monitor “It’s stars I’d like to see,” Lily said, looking wistfully at her dust-colored tea. Why are buses and trucks “Ever so pretty they must be.” a sign that sunshine has “Well, better be getting on I suppose,” said Tom, but he had lost some of his been spotted in the area? bounce and confidence. Every place they passed through looked nastier than the last, partly on account of the dismal light, partly because people had given up 4 60 bothering to take a pride in their boroughs. And then, just as they were entering a village called Molesworth, the dimmest, drabbest, most insignificant huddle of houses they had come to yet, the engine coughed and died on them. d d setting and mood “Can’t see what’s wrong,” said Tom, after a prolonged and gloomy survey. Reread lines 58–62. “Oh, Tom!” Lily was almost crying. “What’ll we do?” Picture what Molesworth “Have to stop here for the night, s’pose.” Tom was short-tempered with looks like. What feeling do you get from that frustration. “Look, there’s a garage just up the road. We can push the bike there, image? and they’ll tell us if there’s a pub5 where we can stay. It’s nearly six anyway.”

2. currant: a berry used to make jams, jellies, and wines. 3. Inverness . . . Southend: resort towns in the north and south of the British Isles. 4. boroughs: towns or districts. 5. pub: a British term for a tavern. Pubs in small towns sometimes serve meals and rent rooms to travelers.

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VA_L10PE-u01s3-Sea.indd 68 3/28/11 9:30:51 AM They had taken the bike to the garage, and the man there was just telling them that the only pub in the village was the Rising Sun, where Mr. Noakes 70 might be able to give them a bed, when a bus pulled up in front of the petrol6 pumps. “Look,” the garage owner said, “there’s Mr. Noakes just getting out of the bus now. Sid!” he called. But Mr. Noakes was not able to come to them at once. Two old people were climbing slowly out of the bus ahead of him: a blind man with a white stick, and a withered, frail old lady in a black satin dress and hat. “Careful now, 10.4h George,” she was saying, “mind ee be careful with my son William.” Language Coach “I’m being careful, Mrs. Hatching,” the conductor said patiently, as Informal Language he almost lifted the unsteady old pair off the bus platform. The driver Aiken’s characters 80 had stopped his engine, and everyone on the bus was taking a mild and speak informally, in a sympathetic interest, except for Mr. Noakes just behind who was cursing regional dialect—the irritably at the delay. When the two old people were on the narrow pavement, vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation the conductor saw that they were going to have trouble with a bicycle that of their setting. For was propped against the curb just ahead of them; he picked it up and stood example, they use holding it until they had passed the line of petrol pumps and were going slowly “mind ee” (line 77) off along a path across the fields. Then, grinning, he put it back, jumped and “good ’un!” (line 107). What other hurriedly into the bus, and rang his bell. examples of informal “Old nuisances,” Mr. Noakes said furiously. “Wasting public time. language can you Every week that palaver7 goes on, taking the old man to Midwick Hospital find? 90 Outpatients and back again. I know what I’d do with ’em. Put to sleep, that sort ought to be.” e e CONFLICT Mr. Noakes was a repulsive-looking individual, but when he heard that Tom How does Mr. Noakes’s and Lily wanted a room for the night, he changed completely and gave them a response to the Hatchings leer that was full of false goodwill. He was a big, red-faced man with wet, full differ from everyone else’s? lips, bulging pale-gray bloodshot eyes, and a crop of stiff greasy black hair. He wore tennis shoes. “Honeymooners, eh?” he said, looking sentimentally at Lily’s pale prettiness. “Want a bed for the night, eh?” and he laughed a disgusting laugh that sounded like thick oil coming out of a bottle, heh-heh-heh-heh, and gave Lily 100 a tremendous pinch on her arm. Disengaging herself as politely as she could, disengage (dGsQDn-gAjP) she stooped and picked up something from the pavement. They followed v. to detach or remove Mr. Noakes glumly up the street to the Rising Sun. oneself While they were eating their baked beans, Mr. Noakes stood over their table grimacing at them. Lily unwisely confided to him that they were looking for a bit of sunshine. Mr. Noakes’s laughter nearly shook down the ramshackle building. “Sunshine! Oh my gawd! That’s a good ’un! Hear that, Mother?” he bawled to his wife. “They’re looking for a bit of sunshine. Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh!

6. petrol: a British term for gasoline. 7. palaver (pE-lBvPEr): useless chatter.

searching for summer 69

VA_L10PE-u01s3-Sea.indd 69 3/28/11 9:30:42 AM Entrance to Erchless (1900s), Victoria Crowe. Oil on canvas, 96.5 cm × 111.7 cm. The Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation. Photo © The Bridgeman Art Library.

Why,” he said, banging on the table till the baked beans leaped about, 110 “if I could find a bit of sunshine near here, permanent bit that is, dja know what I’d do?” The young people looked at him inquiringly across the bread and margarine. “Lido,8 trailer site, country club, holiday camp—you wouldn’t know the place. Land around here is dirt cheap; I’d buy up the lot. Nothing but woods. I’d advertise—I’d have people flocking to this little dump from all over the country. But what a hope, what a hope, eh? Well, feeling better? Enjoyed your tea? Ready for bed? Heh-heh-heh-heh, bed’s ready for you.” f f GRAMMAR AND STYLE Avoiding one another’s eyes, Tom and Lily stood up. Reread lines 107–118. 120 “I—I’d like to go for a bit of a walk first, Tom,” Lily said in a small voice. Notice how Aiken “Look, I picked up that old lady’s bag on the pavement; I didn’t notice it till incorporates sentence fragments, contractions, we’d done talking to Mr. Noakes, and by then she was out of sight. Should and interjections into her we take it back to her?” dialogue to make it sound “Good idea,” said Tom, pouncing on the suggestion with relief. “Do you realistic. know where she lives, Mr. Noakes?” “Who, old Ma Hatching? Sure I know. She lives in the wood. But you don’t want to go taking her bag back, not this time o’ the evening you don’t. Let her worry. She’ll come asking for it in the morning.” “She walked so slowly,” said Lily, holding the bag gently in her hands. It 130 was very old, made of black velvet on two ring handles, and embroidered with beaded roses. “I think we ought to take it to her, don’t you, Tom?”

8. lido (lFPdI): a British term for a public outdoor swimming pool.

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VA_L10PE-u01s3-Sea.indd 70 3/28/11 9:30:30 AM “Oh, very well, very well, have it your own way,” Mr. Noakes said, winking

at Tom. “Take that path by the garage; you can’t go wrong. I’ve never been rudimentary there meself, but they live somewhere in that wood back o’ the village; you’ll (rLQdE-mDnPtE-rC) find it soon enough.” adj. very basic, in the They found the path soon enough, but not the cottage. Under the lowering beginning stages sky they walked forward endlessly among trees that carried only tiny and wizened (wFzPEnd) rudimentary leaves, wizened and poverty-stricken. Lily was still wearing her adj. withered and dry wedding sandals, which had begun to blister her. She held onto Tom’s arm, 140 biting her lip with the pain, and he looked down miserably at her bent brown head; everything had turned out so differently from what he had planned. g g setting and mood By the time they reached the cottage Lily could hardly bear to put her left Reread lines 136–141. foot to the ground, and Tom was gentling her along: “It can’t be much farther What mood does the sensory language used now, and they’ll be sure to have a bandage. I’ll tie it up, and you can have a to describe the woods sit-down. Maybe they’ll give us a cup of tea. We could borrow an old pair of convey to you? socks or something. . . .” Hardly noticing the cottage garden, beyond a vague impression of rows of runner beans, they made for the clematis-grown9 porch and knocked. There was a brass lion’s head on the door, carefully polished. “Eh, me dear!” It was the old lady, old Mrs. Hatching, who opened 150 the door, and her exclamation was a long-drawn gasp of pleasure and astonishment. “Eh, me dear! ’Tis the pretty bride. See’d ye s’arternoon when we was coming home from hospital.” “Who be?” shouted a voice from inside. “Come in, come in, me dears. My son William’ll be glad to hear company; he can’t see, poor soul, nor has this thirty year, ah, and a pretty sight he’s losing this minute—” “We brought back your bag,” Tom said, putting it in her hands, “and we wondered if you’d have a bit of plaster10 you could kindly let us have. My wife’s hurt her foot—” 160 My wife. Even in the midst of Mrs. Hatching’s voluble welcome the voluble (vJlPyE-bEl) adj. strangeness of these words struck the two young people, and they fell quiet, especially talkative, fluent each of them, pondering, while Mrs. Hatching thanked and commiserated, with words all in a breath, and asked them to take a seat on the sofa and fetched a basin commiserate of water from the scullery,11 and William from his seat in the chimney corner (kE-mGzPE-rAtQ) v. to demanded to know what it was all about. express sorrow or pity for “Wot be doing? Wot be doing, Mother?” another’s troubles “ ’Tis a bride, all in’s finery,” she shrilled back at him, “an’s blistered her foot, poor heart.” Keeping up a running commentary for William’s benefit she bound up the foot, every now and then exclaiming to herself in wonder over 170 the fineness of Lily’s wedding dress, which lay in yellow nylon swathes around the chair. “There, me dear. Now us’ll have a cup of tea, eh? Proper thirsty you’m fare to be, walking all the way to here this hot day.” Hot day? Tom and Lily stared at each other and then around the room.

9. clematis-grown: covered with clematis, a flowering vine. 10. plaster: a British term for an adhesive bandage. 11. scullery: a small room in which dishwashing and other kitchen chores are done.

searching for summer 71

VA_L10PE-u01s3-Sea.indd 71 3/28/11 9:30:14 AM Then it was true, it was not their imagination, that a great dusty golden square of sunshine lay on the fireplace wall, where the brass pendulum of the clock at every swing blinked into sudden brilliance? That the blazing geraniums on the windowsill housed a drove of murmuring bees? That, through the window, the gleam of linen hung in the sun to whiten suddenly dazzled their eyes? “The sun? Is it really the sun?” Tom said, almost doubtfully. 180 “And why not?” Mrs. Hatching demanded. “How else’ll beans set, tell me that? Fine thing if sun were to stop shining.” Chuckling to herself she set out a Crown Derby tea set, gorgeously colored in red and gold, and a baking of saffron12 buns. Then she sat down and, drinking her own tea, began to question the two of them about where they had come from, where they were going. The tea was tawny and hot and sweet; the clock’s tick was like a bird chirping; every now and then a log settled in the grate; Lily looked sleepily h setting and mood around the little room, so rich and peaceful, and thought, I wish we were Reread lines 174–191. staying here. I wish we needn’t go back to that horrible pub. . . . She leaned Notice that the new against Tom’s comforting arm. setting conveys a different mood. How 190 “Look at the sky,” she whispered to him. “Out there between the geraniums. would you describe that Blue!” h mood? “And ee’ll come up and see my spare bedroom, won’t ee now?” Mrs. Hatching said, breaking off the thread of her questions—which indeed was not a thread, but merely a savoring of her pleasure and astonishment at this savoring (sAPvEr-Gng) n. unlooked-for visit—“Bide here, why don’t ee? Mid as well. The lil un’s fair a full appreciation and wore out. Us’ll do for ee better ’n rangy old Noakes; proper old scoundrel ’e enjoyment savor v. be. Won’t us, William?” i i monitor “Ah,” William said appreciatively. “I’ll sing ee some o’ my songs.” Reread lines 192–197. A sight of the spare room settled any doubts. The great white bed, huge as What is Mrs. Hatching saying? Try to clarify by 200 a prairie, built up with layer upon solid layer of mattress, blanket, and quilt, reading her words aloud almost filled the little shadowy room in which it stood. Brass rails shone in the and then putting her green dimness. “Isn’t it quiet,” Lily whispered. Mrs. Hatching, silent for the statements in your own moment, stood looking at them proudly, her bright eyes slowly moving from words. face to face. Once her hand fondled, as if it might have been a baby’s downy head, the yellow brass knob. And so, almost without any words, the matter was decided. Three days later they remembered that they must go to the village and collect the scooter which must, surely, be mended by now. They had been helping old William pick a basketful of beans. Tom had 210 taken his shirt off, and the sun gleamed on his brown back; Lily was wearing an old cotton print which Mrs. Hatching, with much chuckling, had shortened to fit her. It was amazing how deftly, in spite of his blindness, William moved among the beans, feeling through the rough, rustling leaves for the stiffness of concealed pods. He found twice as many as Tom and Lily, but then they, even on the third day, were still stopping every other minute to exclaim

12. saffron: a cooking spice that imparts an orange-yellow color to foods.

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VA_L10PE-u01s3-Sea.indd 72 3/28/11 9:30:05 AM How does the use of color affect the mood of this painting? Contrast the mood wih that of the painting on page 67. Yellow Dress (2003), Jeffrey T. Larson. Oil on linen, 12˝ × 16˝. © Daylight Fine Art.

over the blueness of the sky. At night they sat on the back doorstep while Mrs. Hatching clucked inside as she dished the supper, “Starstruck ee’ll be! Come along in, do-ee, before soup’s cold; stars niver run away yet as I do 220 know.” “Can we get anything for you in the village?” Lily asked, but Mrs. Hatching shook her head. “Baker’s bread and suchlike’s no use but to cripple thee’s innardses wi’ colic.13 I been living here these eighty year wi’out troubling doctors, and I’m indomitable (Gn-dJmPG-tE-bEl) adj. not faring to begin now.” She waved to them and stood watching as they not easily discouraged walked into the wood, thin and frail beyond belief, but wiry, indomitable, her or defeated

13. cripple . . . colic (kJlPGk): give yourself a bad case of indigestion.

searching for summer 73

VA_L10PE-u01s3-Sea.indd 73 3/28/11 9:29:53 AM black eyes full of zest. Then she turned to scream menacingly at a couple of pullets14 who had strayed and were scratching among the potatoes. Almost at once they noticed, as they followed the path, that the sky was 230 clouded over. “It is only there on that one spot,” Lily said in wonder. “All the time. And they’ve never even noticed that the sun doesn’t shine in other places.” “That’s how it must have been all over the world, once,” Tom said. At the garage they found their scooter ready and waiting. They were about to start back when they ran into Mr. Noakes. “Well, well, well, well, well!” he shouted, glaring at them with ferocious good humor. “How many wells make a river, eh? And where did you slip off 10.3c to? Here’s me and the missus was just going to tell the police to have the rivers Language Coach dragged. But hullo, hullo, what’s this? Brown, eh? Suntan? Scrumptious,” Connotation Many words have positive or negative 240 he said, looking meltingly at Lily and giving her another tremendous pinch. connotations (emotional “Where’d you get it, eh? That wasn’t all got in half an hour, I know. Come on, associations). Reread lines this means money to you and me; tell us the big secret. Remember what I said; 236-237. Do the words land around these parts is dirt cheap.” glaring and ferocious Tom and Lily looked at each other in horror. They thought of the cottage, have positive or negative the bees humming among the runner beans, the sunlight glinting in the red- connotations? and-gold teacups. At night, when they had lain in the huge sagging bed, stars had shone through the window, and the whole wood was as quiet as the inside of a shell. j j CONFLICT “Oh, we’ve been miles from here,” Tom lied hurriedly. “We ran into a Why do Mr. Noakes’s statements fill Tom and 250 friend, and he took us right away beyond Brinsley.” And as Mr. Noakes still looked suspicious and unsatisfied, he did the only thing possible. “We’re going Lily with horror? back there now,” he said. “The sunbathing’s grand.” And opening the throttle, he let the scooter go. They waved at Mr. Noakes and chugged off toward the gray hills that lay to the north. k k MONITOR “My wedding dress,” Lily said sadly. “It’s on our bed.” What do Tom and Lily They wondered how long Mrs. Hatching would keep tea hot for them, who decide to do? would eat all the pasties.15 “Never mind, you won’t need it again,” Tom comforted her. At least, he thought, they had left the golden place undisturbed. Mr. Noakes 260 never went into the wood. And they had done what they intended; they had found the sun. Now they, too, would be able to tell their grandchildren, when beginning a story, “Long, long ago, when we were young, in the days when the sky was blue . . .” 

14. pullets: young hens. 15. pasties (pBsPtCz): a British term for meat pies.

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VA_L10PE-u01s3-Sea.indd 74 3/28/11 9:29:31 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall Why are Tom and Lily riding around on their scooter at the beginning 10.4 The student will read, of the story? comprehend, and analyze literary texts of different cultures and eras. 10.4f Examine a literary 2. Recall Why do Tom and Lily decide to visit the Hatchings? selection from several critical perspectives. 10.4m Use reading 3. Clarify Why don’t Tom and Lily go back to the Hatchings’ after picking strategies to monitor comprehension up their scooter? throughout the reading process. Text Analysis 4. Monitor Review the questions and answers you wrote while reading. What further insights did you gain into the setting, characters, and events? 5. Interpret Why does the sun shine only over the Hatchings’ cottage? 6. Contrast Setting and Mood Contrast the Hatchings’ cottage and yard with the rest of England “since the bombs.” What differing moods are created by the sensory language used to describe these settings? 7. Examine Conflicts How would you describe the important conflicts in this story? Consider characters who are at odds and desires that are frustrated. Summarize the conflicts in a chart like the one shown.

vs.

vs.

8. Evaluate Actions Do Tom and Lily do the right thing in not going back to the cottage? Explain your opinion. 9. Draw Conclusions About Theme What does the story suggest to you about the things people don’t appreciate? Support your answer. Text Criticism 10. Author’s Style Many critics have commented on Aiken’s ability to write stories that seem like folk tales. What elements of “Searching for Summer” remind you of “once upon a time” stories you read or heard as a child? Cite evidence from the story.

What do you take for GRANTED? What would you do if blue skies disappeared?

searching for summer 75

VA_L10PE-u01s3-arSea.indd 75 3/28/11 9:27:43 AM Vocabulary in Context word list vocabulary practice commiserate Identify the word that is not related in meaning to the other words in the set. disengage indomitable 1. indomitable, unconquerable, feeble, powerful rudimentary 2. disengage, detach, remove, connect savoring 3. withered, blooming, shrunken, wizened unavailing 4. sympathize, commiserate, pity, accuse voluble 5. complex, rudimentary, basic, preliminary wizened 6. voluble, talkative, fluent, silent 7. distaste, savoring, relishing, enjoyment 8. unavailing, useless, effective, futile

Virginia Standards academic vocabulary in speaking of Learning 10.3a Use structural analysis of • affect • communicate • definite • establish • identify roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, and cognates to understand complex One theme that Aiken’s story conveys is the importance of sunlight. With a words. partner, identify and discuss other themes that the story communicates. Use at least one Academic Vocabulary word in your discussion.

vocabulary strategy: the prefix dis- The vocabulary word disengage contains the Latin prefix dis-, which means “in different directions.” This prefix is found in a number of disengage disabled English words. To understand the meaning of words with dis-, use your knowledge of the base word as well as your knowledge of the dis- prefix. disband discontinued PRACTICE Write the word from the word web that best completes disinvite each sentence. Use context clues to help you. If necessary, consult a dictionary or glossary. 1. The crab tried to ______itself from the fisherman’s net. 2. After their argument, she decided to ______her friend to the party. Interactive 3. There’s a ______vehicle on the road that needs to be removed. Vocabulary 4. The music group will ______this month. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-76 5. The store has ______this brand of clothing.

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VA_L10PE-u01s3-arSea.indd 76 3/28/11 9:27:34 AM Virginia Standards Language of Learning grammar and style: Use Realistic Dialogue 10.6c Elaborate ideas clearly through Review the Grammar and Style note on page 70. Aiken uses realistic dialogue to word choice and vivid description. help shape her characters and bring them to life. When writing dialogue, follow her example by enlisting these techniques: 1. Use contractions and interjections. Contractions—such as doesn’t, we’re, and they’ll—combine and shorten words, while interjections—such as well, oh, and hey—express emotion. You can incorporate both into your dialogue to make it sound more like everyday speech. 2. Form sentence fragments. Although sentence fragments should be avoided in formal writing, they are often used in dialogue. Here is an example from the story that highlights Aiken’s use of these techniques. “Can’t see what’s wrong,” said Tom, after a prolonged and gloomy survey. “Oh, Tom!” Lily was almost crying. “What’ll we do?” (lines 63–64) Notice how the revisions in blue make this first draft’s dialogue sound more like real speech. Revise your own writing by making similar changes.

student model “Who wants to be the first to visit the new Rising Sun Resort? I am telling Not anywhere. you, you will never find a place like this. The sun is bright, and the sky is blue. Oh, And did I mention the camp for the kids? What more could you want?”

reading-writing connection YOUR Explore your understanding of “Searching for Summer” by responding to this prompt. Then use the revising tip to improve your writing. TURN

writing prompt revising tip

Short Constructed Response: Description Review your response. Imagine that Mr. Noakes has turned the woods into How have you used a resort. What would he say in a presentation to realistic dialogue to make people want to visit? What sensory language make the presentation would he use? Write one or two paragraphs sound like Mr. Noakes? Interactive Revision describing this resort, using the words, grammar, and pronunciation that Mr. Noakes would use. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-77

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VA_L10PE-u01s3-arSea.indd 77 3/28/11 9:27:24 AM Video link at Comparing To Build a Fire thinkcentral.com Texts Short Story by Jack London from Deep Survival Nonfiction Book by Laurence Gonzales How to Build a Fire Without Matches Diagram

VIDEO TRAILER KEYWORD: HML10-78 Should you trust your INSTINCTS? Virginia Standards of Learning 10.3b Use context, structure, and An instinct is unlearned, automatic behavior shown by all members connotations to determine meanings of a species, such as birds building a nest. Do people, like animals, of words or phrases. 10.3f Extend general and specialized vocabulary have instincts? If they do, when are they likely to use them? Are a through speaking, reading, and person’s instincts as good as, say, a dog’s? The story “To Build a Fire” writing. 10.3g Use knowledge of the evolution, diversity, and attempts to answer such questions. effects of language to comprehend and elaborate the meaning of texts. 10.4 The student will read, What’s the Connection? comprehend, and analyze literary texts of different cultures and Instinct, luck, fate, and the human ability to reason all play key roles eras. 10.4b Make predictions, draw inferences, and connect prior in the main character’s fight to stay alive in a harsh environment. knowledge to support reading After “To Build a Fire,” you will read an excerpt from a nonfiction comprehension. 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s specific word choices, book and examine a visual that explore similar topics. syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the text.

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VA_L10PE-u01s4-brFir.indd 78 3/28/11 9:26:07 AM Meet the Author text analysis: setting and conflict In some stories, the setting can create the conflict a character Jack London faces. It can even act as the antagonist, or opponent, of the 1876–1916 main character. In “To Build a Fire,” the setting is the Yukon Teen Adventurer wilderness, and the main character must battle the crippling Born to an indifferent mother and an cold to survive. The setting challenges him in other ways as well. absentee father, Jack London grew up in a As you read, notice details about this harsh setting and think poor neighborhood in Oakland, California. As a boy, his escape from poverty and loneliness about the choices the setting forces the character to make. was reading books. As a teenager, his escape Review: Mood was the sea. When he was 15, he borrowed money, bought a boat, and became an oyster reading strategy: predict pirate on the San Francisco Bay. At 17, he worked aboard a schooner that sailed the When you predict, you use text clues to guess what will happen North Pacific. When he returned home, the next in a story. Predicting helps you become actively involved only work he could find was low-paying in what you are reading and gives you reasons to read on. To manual labor. Fascinated by rags-to-riches make sound predictions about what will happen in “To Build a stories he heard about people mining for Fire,” use the following strategies: gold in Canada’s Yukon Territory, he sailed north at age 21. • Think about the personality, actions, and thoughts of the main Striking It Rich character when predicting how he will respond to his situation. London did not find gold in the Yukon, but • Note passages of foreshadowing, or hints and clues about he did find something valuable. Holed future plot events. up during the fiercely cold Yukon winter, he read widely and listened to other gold As you read, jot down at least three predictions and the clues prospectors tell stories about life in the you used to make them. Use a chart like the one shown. frozen northland. Inspired by their tales and his own experiences, London returned Predictions Text Clues to Oakland and began to write. In 1899, The man will . . . magazines began publishing his stories, and his writing career was on its way. His novels The Call of the Wild, The Review: Draw Conclusions Sea-Wolf, and White Fang made him one of America’s vocabulary in context most popular, Jack London uses the following boldfaced vocabulary words in his and financially suspenseful tale. To see how many vocabulary words you know, successful, writers. substitute a different word or phrase for each boldfaced term. Almost a century after his death, 1. intangible fear 5. smite in anger readers are still 2. conjectural answer 6. imperative action captivated by his stark, baseless forest 3. apprehension 7. conflagration suspenseful 4. reiterate the command 8. peremptorily dismiss stories.

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

Authors Online Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-79

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JACK LONDON

fireDay had broken cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray, when the man turned aside from the main Yukon trail and climbed the high earth-bank, where a dim and little-travelled trail led eastward through the fat spruce How do you think timberland. It was a steep bank, and he paused for breath at the top, excusing it would feel to be the act to himself by looking at his watch. It was nine o’clock. There was no in the setting of the sun nor hint of sun, though there was not a cloud in the sky. It was a clear photograph? day, and yet there seemed an intangible pall over the face of things, a subtle intangible (Gn-tBnPjE-bEl) gloom that made the day dark, and that was due to the absence of sun. This adj. unable to be perceived fact did not worry the man. He was used to the lack of sun. It had been days with the senses 10 since he had seen the sun, and he knew that a few more days must pass before that cheerful orb, due south, would just peep above the sky line and dip immediately from view. The man flung a look back along the way he had come. The Yukon lay a mile wide and hidden under three feet of ice. On top of this ice were as many feet of snow. It was all pure white, rolling in gentle undulations where the ice jams of the freeze-up had formed. North and south, as far as his eye could see, it was unbroken white, save for a dark hairline that curved and twisted from around the spruce-covered island to the south, and that curved and twisted away into the north, where it disappeared behind another spruce-covered 20 island. This dark hairline was the trail—the main trail—that led south five hundred miles to the Chilcoot Pass, Dyea, and salt water; and that led north seventy miles to Dawson, and still on to the north a thousand miles to a MOOD Reread lines 1–24. What Nulato, and finally to St. Michael, on Bering Sea, a thousand miles and half a mood is created by the thousand more. a description of the setting?

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VA_L10PE-u01s4-Fir.indd 81 3/28/11 9:21:15 AM But all this—this mysterious, far-reaching hairline trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the strangeness and weirdness of it all—made no impression on the man. It was not because he was long used to it. He was a newcomer in the land, a chechaquo, and this was his first winter. The trouble with him was that he was without imagination. He was quick and 30 alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significances. Fifty degrees below zero meant eighty-odd degrees of frost. Such fact im- pressed him as being cold and uncomfortable, and that was all. It did not lead him to meditate upon his frailty as a creature of temperature, and upon man’s frailty in general, able only to live within certain narrow limits of heat and cold; and from there on it did not lead him to the conjectural field of conjectural immortality and man’s place in the universe. Fifty degrees below zero stood for (kEn-jDkPchEr-El) adj. a bite of frost that hurt and that must be guarded against by the use of mittens, involving guesswork ear flaps, warm moccasins, and thick socks. Fifty degrees below zero was to him just precisely fifty degrees below zero. That there should be anything more 40 to it than that was a thought that never entered his head. b b DRAW CONCLUSIONS As he turned to go, he spat speculatively. There was a sharp, explosive Based on the description crackle that startled him. He spat again. And again, in the air, before it could in lines 25–40, what can fall to the snow, the spittle crackled. He knew that at fifty below spittle you conclude about the man’s personality? crackled on the snow, but this spittle had crackled in the air. Undoubtedly it was colder than fifty below—how much colder he did not know. But the temperature did not matter. He was bound for the old claim1 on the left fork of Henderson Creek, where the boys were already. They had come over across the divide from the Indian Creek country, while he had come the roundabout way to take a look at the possibilities of getting out logs in the spring from 50 the islands in the Yukon. He would be in to camp by six o’clock; a bit after dark, it was true, but the boys would be there, a fire would be going, and a hot supper would be ready. As for lunch, he pressed his hand against the protruding bundle under his jacket. It was also under his shirt, wrapped up in a handkerchief and lying against the naked skin. It was the only way to keep the biscuits from freezing. He smiled agreeably to himself as he thought of those biscuits, each cut open and sopped in bacon grease, and each enclosing a generous slice of fried bacon. He plunged in among the big spruce trees. The trail was faint. A foot of snow had fallen since the last sled had passed over, and he was glad he was 60 without a sled, travelling light. In fact, he carried nothing but the lunch wrapped in the handkerchief. He was surprised, however, at the cold. It certainly was cold, he concluded, as he rubbed his numb nose and cheekbones with his mittened hand. He was a warm-whiskered man, but the hair on his c SETTING AND CONFLICT face did not protect the high cheek-bones and the eager nose that thrust itself What conflict does the aggressively into the frosty air. c setting create for the man?

1. claim: a tract of public land claimed by a homesteader or, as in this case, a miner.

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At the man’s heels trotted a dog, a big native husky, the proper wolf dog, gray-coated and without any visible or temperamental difference from its brother, the wild wolf. The animal was depressed by the tremendous cold. It knew that it was no time for travelling. Its instinct told it a truer tale than was 70 told to the man by the man’s judgment. In reality, it was not merely colder than fifty below zero; it was colder than sixty below, than seventy below. It was seventy-five below zero. Since the freezing point is thirty-two above zero, it meant that one hundred and seven degrees of frost obtained.2 The dog did not know anything about thermometers. Possibly in its brain there was no sharp apprehension consciousness of a condition of very cold such as was in the man’s brain. But (BpQrG-hDnPshEn) n. fear the brute had its instinct. It experienced a vague but menacing apprehension and worry for the future that subdued it and made it slink along at the man’s heels, and that made it question eagerly every unwonted movement of the man as if expecting him to go into camp or to seek shelter somewhere and build a fire. The dog had d PREDICT What do you think the 80 learned fire, and it wanted fire, or else to burrow under the snow and cuddle man and dog will do? its warmth away from the air. d Why?

2. obtained: existed.

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VA_L10PE-u01s4-Fir.indd 83 3/28/11 9:20:07 AM The frozen moisture of its breathing had settled on its fur in a fine powder of frost, and especially were its jowls, muzzle and eyelashes whitened by its crystalled breath. The man’s red beard and mustache were likewise frosted, but more solidly, the deposit taking the form of ice and increasing with every warm, moist breath he exhaled. Also, the man was chewing tobacco, and the muzzle of ice held his lips so rigidly that he was unable to clear his chin when he expelled the juice. The result was that a crystal beard of the color and solidity of amber was increasing its length on his chin. If he fell down it 90 would shatter itself, like glass, into brittle fragments. But he did not mind the appendage. It was the penalty all tobacco chewers paid in that country, and he had been out before in two cold snaps. They had not been so cold as this, but by the spirit thermometer3 at Sixty Mile he knew that they had been registered at fifty below and at fifty-five. He held on through the level stretch of woods for several miles, crossed a wide flat . . . and dropped down a bank to the frozen bed of a small stream. This was Henderson Creek, and he knew he was ten miles from the forks. He looked at his watch. It was ten o’clock. He was making four miles an hour, and

he calculated that he would arrive at the forks at half-past twelve. He decided 10.3f 100 to celebrate that event by eating his lunch there. Language Coach The dog dropped in again at his heels, with a tail drooping discouragement, Homophones Words as the man swung along the creek bed. The furrow of the old sled trail was that sound the same plainly visible, but a dozen inches of snow covered the marks of the last but have different runners. In a month no man had come up or down that silent creek. The man spellings and meanings held steadily on. He was not much given to thinking, and just then particularly are homophones. For he had nothing to think about save that he would eat lunch at the forks and example, in line 101, creek (“stream”) is a that at six o’clock he would be in camp with the boys. There was nobody to homophone of creak (“a talk to; and, had there been, speech would have been impossible because of the squeaking sound”). Use ice muzzle on his mouth. So he continued monotonously to chew tobacco and a dictionary to find the definitions of these other 110 to increase the length of his amber beard. homophones that you Once in a while the thought reiterated itself that it was very cold and will find in this story: that he had never experienced such cold. As he walked along he rubbed course/coarse, peace/ his cheekbones and nose with the back of his mittened hand. He did this piece, passed/past. automatically, now and again changing hands. But, rub as he would, the instant he stopped his cheekbones went numb, and the following instant the reiterate (rC-GtPE-rAtQ) v. end of his nose went numb. He was sure to frost his cheeks; he knew that, and to repeat experienced a pang of regret that he had not devised a nose strap of the sort Bud wore in cold snaps. Such a strap passed across the cheeks, as well, and saved them. But it didn’t matter much, after all. What were frosted cheeks? A 120 bit painful, that was all; they were never serious. e e SETTING AND Empty as the man’s mind was of thoughts, he was keenly observant, and he CONFLICT noticed the changes in the creek, the curves and bends and timber jams,4 and Notice the new problem created for the man. How does he view this problem?

3. spirit thermometer: a thermometer in which temperature is indicated by the height of a column of colored alcohol. 4. timber jams: piled-up masses of floating logs and branches.

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always he sharply noted where he placed his feet. Once, coming around a bend he shied abruptly, like a startled horse, curved away from the place where he had been walking, and retreated several paces back along the trail. The creek he knew was frozen clear to the bottom—no creek could contain water in that arctic winter—but he knew also that there were springs that bubbled out from the hillsides and ran along under the snow and on top the ice of the creek. He knew that the coldest snaps never froze these springs, and he knew likewise 130 their danger. They were traps. They hid pools of water under the snow that might be three inches deep, or three feet. Sometimes a skin of ice half an inch thick covered them, and in turn was covered by the snow. Sometimes there were alternate layers of water and ice skin, so that when one broke through he kept on breaking through for a while, sometimes wetting himself to the waist. That was why he had shied in such panic. He had felt the give under his feet and heard the crackle of a snow-hidden ice skin. And to get his feet wet in such a temperature meant trouble and danger. At the very least it meant delay, for he would be forced to stop and build a fire, and under its protection to bare his feet while he dried his socks 140 and moccasins. He stood and studied the creek bed and its banks, and decided Language Coach that the flow of water came from his right. He reflected awhile, rubbing his nose and cheeks, then skirted to the left, stepping gingerly and testing the Homophones Words f PREDICT that sound the same footing for each step. Once clear of the danger, he took a fresh chew of tobacco What do you think will 5 but have different and swung along at his four-mile gait. f happen? Why? spellings and meanings are homophones. For example, in line 101, creek (“stream”) is a homophone of creak (“a n the course of the next two hours he came upon several similar traps. squeaking sound”). Use Usually the snow above the hidden pools had a sunken, candied appearance a dictionary to find the Ithat advertised the danger. Once again, however, he had a close call; and definitions of these other once, suspecting danger, he compelled the dog to go on in front. The dog did homophones that you will find in this story: not want to go. It hung back until the man shoved it forward, and then it course/coarse, peace/ 150 went quickly across the white, unbroken surface. Suddenly it broke through, piece, passed/past. floundered to one side, and got away to firmer footing. It had wet its forefeet and legs, and almost immediately the water that clung to it turned to ice. It made quick efforts to lick the ice off its legs, then dropped down in the snow and began to bite out the ice that had formed between the toes. This was a matter of instinct. To permit the ice to remain would mean sore feet. It did not know this. It merely obeyed the mysterious prompting that arose from the deep crypts of its being. But the man knew, having achieved a judgment on the subject, and he removed the mitten from his right hand and helped tear out the ice particles. He did not expose his fingers more than a minute, and was 160 astonished at the swift numbness that smote them. It certainly was cold. He smite (smFt) v. to inflict pulled on the mitten hastily, and beat the hand savagely across his chest. a heavy blow on; past tense—smote (smIt)

5. four-mile gait: walking pace of four miles per hour.

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VA_L10PE-u01s4-Fir.indd 85 3/28/11 9:19:33 AM At twelve o’clock the day was at its brightest. Yet the sun was too far south on its winter journey to clear the horizon. The bulge of the earth intervened between it and Henderson Creek, where the man walked under a clear sky at noon and cast no shadow. At half-past twelve, to the minute, he arrived at the forks of the creek. He was pleased at the speed he had made. If he kept it up, he would certainly be with the boys by six. He unbuttoned his jacket and shirt and drew forth his lunch. The action consumed no more than a quarter of a minute, yet in that brief moment the numbness laid hold of the exposed 170 fingers. He did not put the mitten on, but, instead, struck the fingers a dozen sharp smashes against his leg. Then he sat down on a snow-covered log to eat. The sting that followed upon the striking of his fingers against his leg ceased so quickly that he was startled. He had had no chance to take a bite of biscuit. He struck the fingers repeatedly and returned them to the mitten, baring the other hand for the purpose of eating. He tried to take a mouthful, but the ice muzzle prevented. He had forgotten to build a fire and thaw out. He chuckled at his foolishness, and as he chuckled he noted the numbness creeping into the g SETTING AND exposed fingers. Also, he noted that the stinging which had first come to his CONFLICT toes when he sat down was already passing away. He wondered whether the Reread lines 162–181. How has the man’s 180 toes were warm or numb. He moved them inside the moccasins and decided situation become more that they were numb. g challenging? Cite details.

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He pulled the mitten on hurriedly and stood up. He was a bit frightened. He stamped up and down until the stinging returned into the feet. It certainly was cold, was his thought. That man from Sulphur Creek had spoken the truth when telling how cold it sometimes got in the country. And he had laughed at him at the time! That showed one must not be too sure of things. There was no mistake about it, it was cold. He strode up and down, stamping his feet and threshing his arms, until reassured by the returning warmth. Then he got out matches and proceeded to make a fire. From the under-growth, where high Language Coach 190 water of the previous spring had lodged a supply of seasoned twigs, he got his Oral Fluency Many firewood. Working carefully from a small beginning, he soon had a roaring English words have fire, over which he thawed the ice from his face and in the protection of which letters that are not he ate his biscuits. For the moment the cold of space was outwitted. The dog pronounced, such as the t in matches (line 189). took satisfaction in the fire, stretching out close enough for warmth and far With a partner, identify enough away to escape being singed. the silent letter in each When the man had finished, he filled his pipe and took his comfortable of these words from time over a smoke, then he pulled on his mittens, settled the ear flaps of his “To Build a Fire”: known, numb, slight, should, cap firmly about his ears, and took the creek trail up the left fork. The dog was knife, watch, build, disappointed and yearned back towards the fire. This man did not know cold. island. 200 Possibly all the generations of his ancestry had been ignorant of cold, of real cold, of cold one hundred and seven degrees below freezing point. But the dog knew; all its ancestry knew, and it had inherited the knowledge. And it knew that it was not good to walk abroad in such fearful cold. It was the time to lie snug in a hole in the snow and wait for a curtain of cloud to be drawn across the face of outer space whence this cold came. On the other hand, there was no keen intimacy between the dog and the man. The one was the toil slave6 of the other, and the only caresses it had ever received were the caresses of the whip lash and of harsh and menacing throat sounds that threatened the whip lash. So the dog made no effort to communicate its apprehension to the man. It was not 210 concerned in the welfare of the man; it was for its own sake that it yearned back toward the fire. But the man whistled, and spoke to it with the sound of whip lashes, and the dog swung in at the man’s heels and followed after. h h DRAW CONCLUSIONS The man took a chew of tobacco and proceeded to start a new amber beard. Who seems more know- Also, his moist breath quickly powdered with white his mustache, eyebrows, ledgeable about what to and lashes. There did not seem to be so many springs on the left fork of the do—the man or the dog? Support your answer. Henderson, and for half an hour the man saw no signs of any. And then it happened. At a place where there were no signs, where the soft, unbroken snow seemed to advertise solidity beneath, the man broke through. It was not deep. He wet himself halfway to the knees before he floundered out to the firm 220 crust. He was angry, and cursed his luck aloud. He had hoped to get into camp with the boys at six o’clock, and this would delay him an hour, for he would have to build a fire and dry out his footgear. This was imperative at that low imperative (Gm-pDrPE-tGv) temperature—he knew that much; and he turned aside to the bank, which he adj. urgently necessary climbed. On top, tangled in the underbrush about the trunks of several small

6. toil slave: a slave who performs hard labor.

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VA_L10PE-u01s4-Fir.indd 87 3/28/11 9:19:02 AM spruce trees, was a high-water deposit7 of dry firewood—sticks and twigs, principally, but also larger portions of seasoned branches and fine, dry, last year’s grasses. He threw down several large pieces on top of the snow. This served for a foundation and prevented the young flame from drowning itself in the snow it otherwise would melt. The flame he got by touching a match to a 230 small shred of birch bark that he took from his pocket. This burned even more readily than paper. Placing it on the foundation, he fed the young flame with wisps of dry grass and with the tiniest dry twigs. He worked slowly and carefully, keenly aware of his danger. Gradually, as the flame grew stronger, he increased the size of the twigs with which he fed it. He squatted in the snow, pulling the twigs out from their entanglement in the brush and feeding directly to the flame. He knew there must be no failure. When it is seventy-five below zero, a man must not fail in his first attempt to build a fire—that is, if his feet are wet. If his feet are dry, and he fails, he can run along the trail for half a mile and restore his circulation. But the 240 circulation of wet and freezing feet cannot be restored by running when it is seventy-five below. No matter how fast he runs, the wet feet will freeze the harder. All this the man knew. The old-timer on Sulphur Creek had told him about it the previous fall, and now he was appreciating the advice. Already all sensation had gone out of his feet. To build the fire he had been forced to remove his mittens, and the fingers had quickly gone numb. His pace of four miles an hour had kept his heart pumping blood to the surface of his body and to all the extremities. But the instant he stopped, the action of the pump eased down. The cold of space smote the unprotected tip of the planet, and he, 250 being on that unprotected tip, received the full force of the blow. The blood of his body recoiled before it. The blood was alive, like the dog, and like the dog it wanted to hide away and cover itself up from the fearful cold. So long as he walked four miles an hour, he pumped the blood, willy-nilly, to the surface; but now it ebbed away and sank down into the recesses of his body. i SETTING AND The extremities were the first to feel its absence. His wet feet froze the faster, CONFLICT and his exposed fingers numbed the faster, though they had not yet begun to Reread lines 216–258. What new conflict with freeze. Nose and cheeks were already freezing, while the skin of all his body the setting is the man chilled as it lost its blood. i experiencing?

ut he was safe. Toes and nose and cheeks would be only touched by the 260 frost, for the fire was beginning to burn with strength. He was feeding it Bwith twigs the size of his finger. In another minute he would be able to feed it with branches the size of his wrist, and then he could remove his wet footgear, and, while it dried, he could keep his naked feet warm by the fire, rubbing them at first, of course, with snow. The fire was a success. He was safe. He

7. high-water deposit: debris left on the bank of a stream as the water recedes from its highest level.

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remembered the advice of the old-timer on Sulphur Creek, and smiled. The old-timer had been very serious in laying down the law that no man must travel alone in the Klondike after fifty below. Well, here he was; he had had the accident; he was alone; and he had saved himself. Those old-timers were rather womanish, some of them, he thought. All a man had to do was to keep his 270 head, and he was all right. Any man who was a man could travel alone. But it was surprising, the rapidity with which his cheeks and nose were freezing. And he had not thought his fingers could go lifeless in so short a time. Lifeless they were, for he could scarcely make them move together to grip a twig, and they seemed remote from his body and from him. When he touched a twig, he had to look and see whether or not he had hold of it. The wires were pretty well down between him and his finger ends. j j DRAW CONCLUSIONS All of which counted for little. There was the fire, snapping and crackling Reread lines 259–276. and promising life with every dancing flame. He started to untie his moccasins. What pattern can you see They were coated with ice; the thick German socks were like sheaths of iron in the man’s attitude and behavior? 280 halfway to the knees; and the moccasin strings were like rods of steel all twisted and knotted as by some conflagration. For a moment he tugged with his conflagration numb fingers, then, realizing the folly of it, he drew his sheath knife. (kJnQflE-grAPshEn) n. a But before he could cut the strings, it happened. It was his own fault or, large, destructive fire rather, his mistake. He should not have built the fire under the spruce tree. He should have built it in the open. But it had been easier to pull the twigs from the brush and drop them directly on the fire. Now the tree under which he had done this carried a weight of snow on its boughs. No wind had blown for weeks, and each bough was full freighted. Each time he had pulled a twig he had communicated a slight agitation to the tree—an imperceptible agitation, 290 so far as he was concerned, but an agitation sufficient to bring about the disaster. High up in the tree one bough capsized its load of snow. This fell on the boughs beneath, capsizing them. This process continued, spreading out and involving the whole tree. It grew like an avalanche, and it descended upon the man and the fire, and the fire was blotted out! Where it had burned was a mantle of fresh and disordered snow. The man was shocked. It was as though he had just heard his own sentence of death. For a moment he sat and stared at the spot where the fire had been. Then he grew very calm. Perhaps the old-timer on Sulphur Creek was right. If he had only had a trail mate he would have been in no danger now. The trail 300 mate could have built the fire. Well, it was up to him to build the fire over again, and this second time there must be no failure. Even if he succeeded, he would most likely lose some toes. His feet must be badly frozen by now, and there would be some time before the second fire was ready. k k PREDICT Such were his thoughts, but he did not sit and think them. He was busy all Do you think the man the time they were passing through his mind. He made a new foundation for a will be able to build a fire fire, this time in the open, where no treacherous tree could blot it out. Next he quickly enough to save his feet? gathered dry grasses and tiny twigs from the high-water flotsam. He could not

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VA_L10PE-u01s4-Fir.indd 89 3/28/11 9:18:29 AM bring his fingers together to pull them out, but he was able to gather them by the handful. In this way he got many rotten twigs and bits of green moss that 310 were undesirable, but it was the best he could do. He worked methodically, even collecting an armful of the larger branches to be used later when the fire gathered strength. And all the while the dog sat and watched him, a certain wistfulness in its eyes, for it looked upon him as the fire provider, and the fire was slow in coming. 10.4h When all was ready, the man reached in his pocket for a second piece of l NARRATOR birch bark. He knew the bark was there, and though he could not feel it with The narrator of a story his fingers, he could hear its crisp rustling as he fumbled for it. Try as he is the character or voice would, he could not clutch hold of it. And all the time, in his consciousness, that relates the story’s events to the reader. was the knowledge that each instant his feet were freezing. This thought In “To Build a Fire,” the 320 tended to put him in a panic, but he fought against it and kept calm. l narrator is omniscient, or He pulled on his mittens with his teeth, and threshed his arms back and all-knowing and outside forth, beating his hands with all his might against his sides. He did this sitting the action. London uses down, and he stood up to do it; and all the while the dog sat in the snow, its his omniscient narrator to create a detached, wolf brush of a tail curled around warmly over its forefeet, its sharp wolf ears objective tone. This pricked forward intently as it watched the man. And the man, as he beat and narrator is so detached threshed with his arms and hands, felt a great surge of envy as he regarded the that readers do not even creature that was warm and secure in its natural covering. know the man’s name. Rewrite lines 315–320 After a time he was aware of the first faraway signals of sensations in his from the point of view beaten fingers. The faint tingling grew stronger till it evolved into a stinging of the freezing man. 330 ache that was excruciating, but which the man hailed with satisfaction. He How does the feel of the stripped the mitten from his right hand and fetched forth the birch bark. story change when the The exposed fingers were quickly going numb again. Next he brought out his point of view changes from omniscient to first- bunch of sulphur matches. But the tremendous cold had already driven the person? life out of his fingers. In his effort to separate one match from the others, the whole bunch fell into the snow. He tried to pick it out of the snow, but failed. The dead fingers could neither clutch nor touch. He was very careful. He drove the thought of his freezing feet, and nose, and cheeks, out of his mind, devoting his whole soul to the matches. He watched, using the sense of vision in place of that of touch, and when he saw his fingers on each side the bunch, 340 he closed them—that is, he willed to close them, for the wires were down, and the fingers did not obey. He pulled the mitten on the right hand, and beat it fiercely against his knee. Then, with both mittened hands, he scooped the bunch of matches, along with much snow, into his lap. Yet he was no better off. After some manipulation he managed to get the bunch between the heels of his mittened hands. In this fashion he carried it to his mouth. The ice crackled and snapped when by a violent effort he opened his mouth. He drew the lower jaw in, curled the upper lip out of the way and scraped the bunch with his upper teeth in order to separate a match. He succeeded in getting one, which 350 he dropped on his lap. He was no better off. He could not pick it up. Then he

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devised a way. He picked it up in his teeth and scratched it on his leg. Twenty times he scratched before he succeeded in lighting it. As it flamed he held it with his teeth to the birch bark. But the burning brimstone8 went up his What effect is achieved by nostrils and into his lungs, causing him to cough spasmodically. The match fell placing these two images together? into the snow and went out. The old-timer on Sulphur Creek was right, he thought in the moment of controlled despair that ensued: after fifty below, a man should travel with a partner. He beat his hands, but failed in exciting any sensation. Suddenly he bared both hands, removing the mittens with his teeth. He caught the whole 360 bunch between the heels of his hands. His arm muscles not being frozen enabled him to press the hand heels tightly against the matches. Then he scratched the bunch along his leg. It flared into flame, seventy sulphur matches at once! There was no wind to blow them out. He kept his head to one side to escape the strangling fumes, and held the blazing bunch to the birch bark. As he so held it, he became aware of sensation in his hand. His flesh was burning. He could smell it. Deep down below the surface he could feel it. The sensation developed into pain that grew acute. And still he endured it, holding the flame

8. brimstone: sulfur, a chemical used in match heads.

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VA_L10PE-u01s4-Fir.indd 91 3/28/11 9:18:06 AM of the matches clumsily to the bark that would not light readily because his own burning hands were in the way, absorbing most of the flame. m m PREDICT 370 At last, when he could endure no more, he jerked his hands apart. The Given his current blazing matches fell sizzling into the snow, but the birch bark was alight. He difficulties, what do you began laying dry grasses and the tiniest twigs on the flame. He could not pick predict will happen to the man? Why? and choose, for he had to lift the fuel between the heels of his hands. Small pieces of rotten wood and green moss clung to the twigs, and he bit them off as well as he could with his teeth. He cherished9 the flame carefully and awkwardly. It meant life, and it must not perish. The withdrawal of blood from the surface of his body now made him begin to shiver, and he grew more awkward. A large piece of green moss fell squarely on the little fire. He tried to poke it out with his fingers, but his shivering frame made him poke too far, and 380 he disrupted the nucleus of the little fire, the burning grasses and the tiny twigs separating and scattering. He tried to poke them together again, but in spite of the tenseness of the effort, his shivering got away with him, and the twigs were hopelessly scattered. Each twig gushed a puff of smoke and went out. The fire provider had failed. As he looked apathetically about him, his eyes chanced on the dog, sitting across the ruins of the fire from him, in the snow, making restless, hunching movements, slightly lifting one forefoot and then the other, shifting its weight back and forth on them with wistful eagerness. The sight of the dog put a wild idea into his head. He remembered the tale of the man, caught in a blizzard, who killed a steer and crawled inside the 390 carcass, and so was saved. He would kill the dog and bury his hands in the warm body until the numbness went out of them. Then he could build another fire. He spoke to the dog, calling it to him; but in his voice was a strange note of fear that frightened the animal, who had never known the man to speak in such a way before. Something was the matter, and its suspicious nature sensed danger—it knew not what danger, but somewhere, somehow, in its brain arose an apprehension of the man. It flattened its ears down at the sound of the man’s voice, and its restless, hunching movements and the liftings and shiftings of its forefeet became more pronounced; but it would not come to the man. He got on his hands and knees and crawled toward the dog. This unusual posture again 400 excited suspicion, and the animal sidled mincingly away. n n PREDICT The man sat up in the snow for a moment and struggled for calmness. Do you think the man Then he pulled on his mittens, by means of his teeth, and got upon his feet. will succeed in tricking He glanced down at first in order to assure himself that he was really standing the dog? up, for the absence of sensation in his feet left him unrelated to the earth. His erect position in itself started to drive the webs of suspicion from the dog’s mind; and when he spoke peremptorily, with the sound of whip lashes in his peremptorily voice, the dog rendered its customary allegiance and came to him. As it came (pE-rDmpPtE-rE-lC) adv. in within reaching distance, the man lost his control. His arms flashed out to the a commanding way that dog, and he experienced genuine surprise when he discovered that his hands does not allow for refusal or contradiction 410 could not clutch, that there was neither bend nor feeling in his fingers. He had

9. cherished: tended; guarded.

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forgotten for the moment that they were frozen and that they were freezing more and more. All this happened quickly, and before the animal could get away, he encircled its body with his arms. He sat down in the snow, and in this fashion held the dog, while it snarled and whined and struggled. But it was all he could do, hold its body encircled in his arms and sit there. He realized that he could not kill the dog. There was no way to do it. With his helpless hands he could neither draw nor hold his sheath knife nor throttle the animal. He released it, and it plunged wildly away, with tail between its legs, and still snarling. It halted forty feet away and surveyed him curiously, with 420 ears sharply pricked forward. The man looked down at his hands in order to locate them, and found them hanging on the ends of his arms. It struck him as curious that one should have to use his eyes in order to find out where his hands were. He began threshing his arms back and forth, beating the mittened hands against his sides. He did this for five minutes, violently, and his heart pumped enough blood up to the surface to put a stop to his shivering. But no sensation was aroused in the hands. He had an impression that they hung like weights on the ends of his arms, but when he tried to run the impression down, he could not find it.

certain fear of death, dull and oppressive, came to him. This fear quickly 430 became poignant as he realized that it was no longer a mere matter of Afreezing his fingers and toes, or of losing his hands and feet, but that it was a matter of life and death with the chances against him. This threw him into a panic, and he turned and ran along the old, dim trail. The dog joined in behind 10.3g and kept up with him. He ran blindly, without intention, in fear such as he had Language Coach never known in his life. Slowly, as he plowed and floundered through the snow, Etymologies Reread he began to see things again—the banks of the creek, the old timber jams, the lines 432-433. The word panic comes from the leafless aspens, and the sky. The running made him feel better. He did not Greek word panikos, shiver. Maybe, if he ran on, his feet would thaw out; and, anyway, if he ran far which means “relating enough, he would reach camp and the boys. Without doubt he would lose some to Pan.” Pan was a god 440 fingers and toes and some of his face; but the boys would take care of him, and whose presence inspired save the rest of him when he got there. And at the same time there was another sudden, irrational fear. How does the man’s thought in his mind that said he would never get to the camp and the boys; that reaction show panic? he would soon be stiff and dead. This thought he kept in the background and refused to consider. Sometimes it pushed itself forward and demanded to be heard, but he thrust it back and strove to think of other things. o o SETTING AND It struck him as curious that he could run at all on feet so frozen that he CONFLICT could not feel them when they struck the earth and took the weight of his What has the man’s body. He seemed to himself to skim along above the surface, and to have no struggle now become?

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VA_L10PE-u01s4-Fir.indd 93 3/28/11 9:17:29 AM connection with the earth. Somewhere he had once seen a winged Mercury,10 450 and he wondered if Mercury felt as he felt when skimming over the earth. His theory of running until he reached camp and the boys had one flaw in it: he lacked the endurance. Several times he stumbled, and finally he tottered, crumpled up, and fell. When he tried to rise, he failed. He must sit and rest, he decided, and next time he would merely walk and keep on going. As he sat and regained his breath, he noted that he was feeling quite warm and comfortable. He was not shivering, and it even seemed that a warm glow had come to his chest and trunk. And yet, when he touched his nose or cheeks, there was no sensation. Running would not thaw them out. Nor would it thaw out his hands and feet. Then the thought came to him that the frozen portions of his 460 body must be extending. He tried to keep this thought down, to forget it, to think of something else; he was aware of the panicky feeling that it caused, and he was afraid of the panic. But the thought asserted itself, and persisted, until it produced a vision of his body totally frozen. This was too much, and he made another wild run along the trail. Once he slowed down to a walk, but the thought of the freezing extending itself made him run again. And all the time the dog ran with him, at his heels. When he fell down a second time, it curled its tail over its forefeet and sat in front of him, facing him, curiously eager and intent. The warmth and security of the animal angered him, and he cursed it till it flattened down its ears appeasingly. This 470 time the shivering came more quickly upon the man. He was losing in his battle with the frost. It was creeping into his body from all sides. The thought of it drove him on, but he ran no more than a hundred feet, when he staggered and pitched headlong. It was his last panic. When he had recovered his breath and control, he sat up and entertained in his mind the conception of meeting death with dignity. However, the conception did not come to him in such terms. His idea of it was that he had been making a fool of himself, running

around like a chicken with its head cut off—such was the simile that occurred 10.3b to him. Well, he was bound to freeze anyway, and he might as well take it p WORD RELATIONSHIPS decently. With this newfound peace of mind came the first glimmerings of You can often infer, or 480 drowsiness. A good idea, he thought, to sleep off to death. It was like taking an guess, the meaning of anesthetic. Freezing was not so bad as people thought. There were lots worse an unfamiliar word by ways to die. analyzing its relationship p He pictured the boys finding his body the next day. Suddenly he found to other words. For example, the word himself with them, coming along the trail and looking for himself. And, still conception (lines 474 with them, he came around a turn in the trail and found himself lying in the and 475) may not be snow. He did not belong with himself any more, for even then he was out of familiar to you. But if himself, standing with the boys and looking at himself in the snow. It certainly you can identify a nearby synonym, or word with was cold, was his thought. When he got back to the States he could tell the nearly the same meaning, folks what real cold was. He drifted on from this to a vision of the old-timer conception’s meaning may become clear. Which word in line 476 seems to be a synonym of conception? What do you 10. Mercury: the messenger of the gods in Roman mythology, who flew about by means of wings on his think conception means? helmet and sandals. Explain your answers.

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490 on Sulphur Creek. He could see him quite clearly, warm and comfortable, and smoking a pipe. “You were right, old hoss;11 you were right,” the man mumbled to the old- timer of Sulphur Creek. Then the man drowsed off into what seemed to him the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known. The dog sat facing him and waiting. The brief day drew to a close in a long, slow twilight. There were no signs of a fire to be made, and, besides, never in the dog’s experience had it known a man to sit like that in the snow and make no fire. As the twilight drew on, its eager yearning for the fire mastered it, and with a great lifting and shifting of 500 forefeet, it whined softly, then flattened its ears down in anticipation of being chidden by the man. But the man remained silent. Later the dog whined loudly. And still later it crept close to the man and caught the scent of death. This made the animal bristle and back away. A little longer it delayed, howling under the stars that leaped and danced and shone brightly in the cold sky.  PREDICT Will the dog meet the Then it turned and trotted up the trail in the direction of the camp it knew, same fate as the man? where there were other food providers and fire providers.   Why?

11. old hoss: old horse—here used as an affectionate term of address.

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Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall Why must the man stop and build a second fire? 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary 2. Recall What causes his second fire to go out? texts of different cultures and eras. 10.4b Make predictions, 3. Recall Why does the man have difficulty rebuilding the second fire? draw inferences, and connect prior knowledge to support reading comprehension. 10.4f Examine a 4. Clarify What ultimately happens to the man and the dog? literary selection from several critical perspectives. Text Analysis 5. Predict Look at the chart you created as you read. What predictions did you make about events in the story? Tell what clues helped you guess correctly— or misled you. Cite evidence from the text in your response.

6. Analyze Setting and Conflict In what ways does the setting act as an antagonist, or opponent, of the man? How do the conflicts he face create tension? Cite evidence from the story. 7. Evaluate Behavior Identify at least three mistakes that the man makes. What traits or qualities Qualities Mistakes within him cause him to make those mistakes? overconfident travels alone Record your ideas on a chart like the one shown. 8. Contrast Characters Point out differences between the man and the dog. What message about instincts do you get from these contrasts?

9. Analyze Mood Describe the mood, or atmosphere, of the story. How does the description of setting contribute to the mood? 10. Make Judgments What do you blame most for the man’s fate? Support your answer. Text Criticism 11. Philosophical Context Two principles of the philosophy of naturalism are that (1) the universe is indifferent to humankind and (2) people are at the mercy of forces over which they have little control. How are these principles illustrated in “To Build a Fire”? Use examples from the story to support your answer.

Should you trust your instincts? When is a person most likely to use his or her instincts?

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Vocabulary in Context word list vocabulary practice apprehension Decide whether each pair of words contains synonyms (words with the same conflagration meaning) or antonyms (words with opposite meanings). conjectural 1. intangible/touchable 5. smite/caress imperative intangible 2. conjectural/theorized 6. imperative/needless peremptorily 3. apprehension/anxiety 7. conflagration/blaze reiterate 4. reiterate/restate 8. peremptorily/hesitantly smite academic vocabulary in writing

• affect • communicate • definite • establish • identify

Working with a partner, establish a set of guidelines that you would give to someone about to set off into the Yukon. Identify and write down at least four important rules that he or she should follow. Try to use at least two Academic Vocabulary words in your guidelines.

vocabulary strategy: connotation and denotation Virginia Standards of Learning A word’s denotation is its basic dictionary meaning; its connotation is the 10.3c Discriminate between overtones of meaning the word has taken on. For example, the vocabulary word connotative and denotative conflagration means “a large fire,” but it has negative connotations of total meanings and interpret the connotation. destruction, unlike the more neutral word flame. When you choose a word in writing, consider whether its connotation fits the context of the sentences and paragraphs surrounding it.

PRACTICE Choose the word that works best in each sentence. 1. The queen (assertively/peremptorily) ordered her attendants to stand. 2. The melody would (reiterate/echo) in his ears. 3. The excited children felt (anticipation/apprehension) as they entered the Interactive circus tent. Vocabulary 4. Examinations were (imperative/compulsory) for admission to the school. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-97 5. There was an (intangible/unsubstantial) feeling of loss in the community.

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from Deep Survival Nonfiction Book

Virginia Standards of Learning What’s the Connection? 10.3 The student will apply In “To Build a Fire” you read about a man who is unable to save knowledge of word origins, derivations, and figurative language himself in a desperate situation. But what exactly does he do wrong? to extend vocabulary development Could his fate have been different? In the following selection you’ll in authentic texts. 10.5a Identify text organization and structure. learn what real people in desperate situations have done to save 10.5f Draw conclusions and make their lives. inferences on explicit and implied information using textual support as evidence. Standards Focus: Use Text Features Text features are design elements that highlight the organization of information and key ideas in a text. Like numbered steps in a recipe, they make a text easy to follow. For example, in the selection from Deep Survival, the following text features point out its key ideas: • The title usually reveals the main topic of the piece. • Numbers make the order of sequential information obvious or establish order of importance. • Subheadings —boldfaced headings in the text—signal the start of new topics or sections and tell what they will be about. • Text in parentheses explains whatever came just before it. As you read the selection, use these features for help in finding and recording key ideas in the order the writer presents them. Record the writer’s subheadings on a chart like the one shown, but then use the examples he gives as a basis for summarizing the key ideas— restating them in your own words.

1. Subheading: Key Idea: Perceive, believe

2. Subheading: Key Idea:

Review: Summarize

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a a USE TEXT FEATURES Speculate about the meaning of the title. by LAURENCE GONZALES What topic do you predict the writer will discuss?

Lauren Elder, sole survivor of a plane crash

’ve been reading accident reports of various kinds for thirty or more years. Call me callous, but to me they’re like silent comedy 10.3 Imovies. People do the strangest things and get themselves into Language Coach the most amazing predicaments. You want to go wake up Tolstoy and Root Words Look at this Dostoevsky and say: Hey, you think your characters are crazy. . . . selection’s title. The word In reading about cases in which people survived seemingly survival includes the root -viv-, which means impossible circumstances, however, I found an eerie uniformity. “to live.” What are some Decades and sometimes even centuries apart, separated by culture, other words that include geography, race, language, and tradition, they all went through the this root? What do those 10 same patterns of thought and behavior. I eventually distilled those words mean? observations down to twelve points that seemed to stand out

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VA_L10PE-u01s4-c3Dep.indd 99 3/28/11 11:04:13 AM concerning how survivors think and behave in the clutch of mortal danger. Some are the same as the steps for staying out of trouble. Here’s what survivors do:

1. Perceive, believe (look, see, believe). Even in the initial crisis, b USE TEXT b FEATURES survivors’ perceptions and cognitive functions keep working. They notice the Scan the boldfaced details and may even find some humorous or beautiful. If there is any denial, subheadings to get an it is counterbalanced by a solid belief in the clear evidence of their senses. overview of the points Gonzales makes. How They immediately begin to recognize, acknowledge, and even accept the would you characterize 20 reality of their situation. “I’ve broken my leg, that’s it. I’m dead,” as Joe these points about Simpson [who survived a mountain-climbing accident in Peru] put it. They survival? How many may initially blame forces outside themselves, too; but very quickly they are there? dismiss that tactic and recognize that everything, good and bad, emanates from within. They see opportunity, even good, in their situation. They move through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance very rapidly. They “go inside.” Bear in mind, though, that many people, such as Debbie Kiley [who survived being lost at sea for five days without water], may have to struggle for a time before they get there. 2. Stay calm (use humor, use fear to focus). In the initial crisis, 30 survivors are making use of fear, not being ruled by it. Their fear often feels like and turns into anger, and that motivates them and makes them sharper. They understand at a deep level about being cool and are ever on guard against the mutiny of too much emotion. They keep their sense of humor and therefore keep calm. 3. Think/analyze/plan (get organized; set up small, manageable tasks). Survivors quickly organize, set up routines, and institute discipline. In successful group survival situations, a leader emerges often from the least likely candidate. They push away thoughts that their situation is hopeless. A rational voice emerges and is often actually heard,

Joe Simpson, survivor of a mountain-climbing accident

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40 which takes control of the situation. Survivors perceive that experience as being split into two people and they “obey” the rational one. It begins with the paradox of seeing reality—how hopeless it would seem to an outside observer—but acting with the expectation of success. 4. Take correct, decisive action (be bold and cautious while carrying out tasks). Survivors are able to transform thought into action. They are willing to take risks to save themselves and others. They are able to break down very large jobs into small, manageable tasks. They set attainable goals and develop short-term plans to reach them. They are meticulous about doing those tasks well. They deal with what is within their power from 50 moment to moment, hour to hour, day to day. They leave the rest behind. 5. Celebrate your successes (take joy in completing tasks). Survivors take great joy from even their smallest successes. That is an important step in creating an ongoing feeling of motivation and preventing the descent into hopelessness. It also provides relief from the unspeakable stress of a true survival situation. 6. Count your blessings (be grateful—you’re alive). This is how survivors become rescuers instead of victims. There is always someone else they are helping more than themselves, even if that someone is not present. One survivor I spoke to, Yossi Ghinsberg, who was lost for weeks in the 60 Bolivian jungle, hallucinated about a beautiful companion. . . . Everything he did, he did for her. 7. Play (sing, play mind games, recite poetry, count anything, do mathematical problems in your head). Since the brain and its c c USE TEXT wiring appear to be the determining factor in survival, this is an argument for FEATURES expanding and refining it. The more you have learned and experienced of art, Notice how music, poetry, literature, philosophy, mathematics, and so on, the more the material in parentheses helps resources you will have to fall back on. Just as survivors use patterns and you understand rhythm to move forward in the survival voyage, they use the deeper activities point 7, Play. Read of intellect to stimulate, calm, and entertain the mind. Counting becomes the rest of the section. Then explain in your 70 important, too, and reciting poetry or even a mantra can calm the frantic own words how mind. Movement becomes dance. One survivor who had to walk a long way survivors “play.” counted his steps, one hundred at a time, and dedicated each hundred to another person he cared about. . . . Survivors often cling to talismans. They search for meaning and the more you know already, the deeper the meaning. They engage the crisis almost as a game. They discover the flow of the expert performer, in whom emotion and thought balance each other in producing action. “Careful, careful,” they say. But they act joyfully and decisively. Playing also leads to invention, and invention may lead to a new technique, strategy, or a piece of equipment that could save you.

deep survival 101

VA_L10PE-u01s4-c3Dep.indd 101 3/28/11 11:02:47 AM 80 8. See the beauty (remember: it’s a vision quest). Survivors are attuned to the wonder of the world. The appreciation of beauty, the feeling of awe, opens the senses. When you see something beautiful, your pupils actually dilate. This appreciation not only relieves stress and creates strong motivation, but it allows you to take in new information more effectively. 9. Believe that you will succeed (develop a deep conviction that you’ll live). All of the practices just described lead to this point: Survivors consolidate their personalities and fix their determination. Survivors admonish themselves to make no more mistakes, to be very careful, and to 90 do their very best. They become convinced that they will prevail if they do those things. 10. Surrender (let go of your fear of dying; “put away the pain”). Survivors manage pain well. Lauren Elder, who walked out of the Sierra Nevada after surviving a plane crash, wrote that she “stored away the information: My arm is broken.” That sort of thinking is what John Leach calls “resignation without giving up. It is survival by surrender.” Joe Simpson recognized that he would probably die. But it had ceased to bother him, and so he went ahead and crawled off the mountain anyway. d SUMMARIZE d A summary is a retelling of the main 11. Do whatever is necessary (be determined; have the will ideas and details of 100 and the skill). Survivors have meta-knowledge: They know their abilities a text in your own and do not over- or underestimate them. They believe that anything is words. In a sentence, possible and act accordingly. Play leads to invention, which leads to trying summarize point 10, something that might have seemed impossible. When the plane in which Surrender. Lauren Elder was flying hit the top of a ridge above 12,000 feet, it would have seemed impossible that she could get off alive. She did it anyway, including having to down-climb vertical rock faces with a broken arm. Survivors don’t expect or even hope to be rescued. They are coldly rational about using the world, obtaining what they need, doing what they have to do. 12. Never give up (let nothing break your spirit). There is e USE TEXT e FEATURES 110 always one more thing that you can do. Survivors are not easily frustrated. Why do you think They are not discouraged by setbacks. They accept that the environment Gonzales placed this (or the business climate or their health) is constantly changing. They pick point last? themselves up and start the entire process over again, breaking it down into manageable bits. Survivors always have a clear reason for going on. They keep their spirits up by developing an alternate world made up of rich memories to which they can escape. They mine their memory for whatever will keep them occupied. They come to embrace the world in which they find themselves and see opportunity in adversity. In the aftermath, survivors learn from and are grateful for the experiences they’ve had.

102 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s4-c3Dep.indd 102 3/28/11 11:02:10 AM After Reading Comparing Texts

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall What kinds of accidents happened to the people in Deep Survival? 10.5a Identify text organization and structure. 10.5f Draw conclusions 2. Paraphrase What does it mean to “Perceive, believe”? and make inferences on explicit and implied information using textual support as evidence. 10.5g Analyze and synthesize information in Text Analysis order to solve problems, answer questions, and generate new 3. Analyze Text Features Review the subheadings you jotted down as you read knowledge. 10.6 The student this selection. What is similar about the way in which they are stated? Why will develop a variety of writing to persuade, interpret, analyze, might Gonzales have chosen to phrase them this way? and evaluate with an emphasis on exposition and analysis. 4. Make Generalizations What general attitude do survivors seem to have? 5. Apply In what ways can you apply the 12 points to crises other than those involving physical survival in the outdoors?

Read for Information: Evaluate

writing prompt Use Gonzales’s principles for survival to evaluate the performance of the man in “To Build a Fire.” How does he demonstrate effective survival behavior? What does he fail to do that survivors tend to do?

To answer this prompt you will need to do the following: 1. Create a checklist of effective survival behaviors based on the 12 principles in Deep Survival. 2. Reread “To Build a Fire,” rating the man’s survival skills based on your checklist. 3. Explain what you’ve discovered in a short paragraph. Then support your evaluation with evidence from the story and your checklist.

Evaluation on Specific Points Yes No

1. 2. Summary Evaluation with Evidence 3. 4. 5.

reading for information 103

VA_L10PE-u01s4-c3Dep.indd 103 3/28/11 11:01:55 AM Reading for Information

Virginia Standards Diagram of Learning Just as important as the ability to understand literary and expository 10.5c Skim manuals or selections is the ability to understand visual messages. The following informational sources to locate information. 10.5e Interpret and diagram is from a survival manual. Consider how the image and the use data and information in maps, words work together to convey meaning. The questions to the right charts, graphs, timelines, tables, and diagrams. will help you.

1. EVALUATE If you were in a survival situation, do you think you could start a fire using only this diagram?

2. CONNECT In the survival situation you think you would personally be most likely to encounter, would building a fire be your first priority? If so, why? If not, what else would be?

104 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s4-visFir.indd 104 3/28/11 8:55:29 AM Comparing Texts: Assessment Practice

Assessment Practice: Short Constructed Response

literary text: “to build a fire”

If you are able to analyze the literary elements in the stories you read, you will better appreciate literature. To strengthen your literary analysis skills, read the short constructed response question at left below and pay attention to the strategies suggested at right.

In “To Build a Fire,” how does the main strategies in action

character’s opinion change regarding the 1. Note that this question requires you to advice given by the old-timer on Sulfur explain the man’s opinion before the change as Creek? Support your answer with evidence well as explain his opinion after the change. from the story. 2. Look for evidence that supports your answer. Evidence from the text can take the form of a direct quotation, a paraphrase, or a synopsis with specific details. 3. Make sure that any assertion you make is directly supported by evidence.

nonfiction text: “deep survival”

Assessments often expect you to make thoughtful judgments about expository texts. Practice this important skill by answering the short constructed response question below.

Having read “Deep Survival,” do you believe strategies in action

you are now better prepared to survive a life- 1. Reread the text, noting places where the threatening disaster? Support your answer content confirms or contradicts your own with evidence from the texts. knowledge and experience. 2. Make a judgment based on connections between the selection and your own life. 3. Include evidence for each connection you make.

comparing literary and nonfiction texts

You are likely to be tested on your ability to compare and contrast literary and nonfiction texts. Practice this valuable skill by applying the following short constructed response question to “To Build a Fire” and “Deep Survival.”

If the man in “To Build a Fire” had read strategies in action

“Deep Survival,” might he have lived 1. Reread passages from both texts that you through his ordeal? Support your answer feel are key to answering the question. with evidence from both texts. 2. The question asks you to make a prediction. Your answer should be based on evidence from both texts and your own experiences and knowledge of human behavior.

to build a fire / deep survival / “how to build a fire without matches” 105

VA_L10PE-u01-tapFir.indd 105 3/28/11 11:25:44 AM Before Reading

from The Johnstown Flood Historical Narrative by David McCullough

Is SURVIVAL a matter of chance?

Virginia Standards If you listen to survivors’ stories after a disaster, you are bound to of Learning hear phrases such as “If I hadn’t turned back when I did . . .” or “It 10.3g Use knowledge of the evolution, diversity, and effects missed me by just inches. . . .” Is survival determined by pure luck? of language to comprehend Or do some survivors make their own luck by thinking quickly and and elaborate the meaning of texts. 10.4h Evaluate how an seeing opportunities for escape? Read this account of a little girl who author’s specific word choices, survived one of the deadliest floods in U.S. history, and decide what syntax, tone, and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, accounts for her rescue. achieve special effects and support the author’s purpose. 10.5a Identify text organization and structure. QUICKWRITE With your class, discuss survival stories you have read or heard about. In each case, would you attribute survival to luck or other causes?

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VA_L10PE-u01s6-brflo.indd 106 3/28/11 11:29:41 AM Meet the Author text analysis: mood The Johnstown Flood is a historical narrative, a story about David McCullough real events that occurred in the past. To tell the story of the born 1933 horrifying events that occurred in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, A Passion for the Past in 1889, writer David McCullough creates a mood of tension To many Americans, David McCullough (mE-kOlPE) and impending doom. Mood is the feeling or atmosphere that has a familiar face—and voice. the writer creates for the reader. For example, think about the He has hosted the PBS series Smithsonian World and The American Experience and following description: has narrated many TV documentaries. In the last few seconds, fighting the current around him that kept First and foremost, however, McCullough getting deeper and faster every second, he reached the hillside is an award-winning writer of histories and biographies. His passion for writing just as the wave pounded by below. about the past began in the 1960s when To understand how mood is created, notice the following as he saw old photographs of a tragic flood you read: that had occurred about 70 years before in his native Pennsylvania. Unable to find • the author’s choice of words and phrases (diction) and their well-written books about the tragedy, he arrangement (syntax) decided to write one himself. The result was The Johnstown Flood. A master • details of setting storyteller, McCullough has the gift of • imagery making the past come alive. “You scratch the surface of the supposedly dead past,” As you read, look for descriptions of what Johnstown was he says, “and what you find is life.” like on the day of the flood and what Gertrude Quinn and her family saw, heard, and said. background to the narrative Dark Day in Johnstown Review: Conflict The facts about the Johnstown flood are well documented. A heavy downpour reading skill: analyze chronological order that began on May 30, 1889, caused a To help readers follow the chaotic events that took place man-made lake high in the hills above Johnstown to overflow its banks. The during and after the Johnstown flood, McCullough presents surging water put tremendous pressure them in chronological order, the structural pattern that on the South Fork dam, and faulty repairs presents events in the order in which they actually occurred made to it in the past began to buckle. in time. He also includes many time-order signal words, such On the afternoon of May 31, the dam as before, after, then, and meanwhile to show the connections collapsed, releasing the entire contents between events. of the lake. About 20 million tons of water rushed down the hills, smashing As you read, look for such signal words and use them to record Johnstown with a wave of water three major events in the order that they occurred on a timeline stories high. Minutes later, more than like the one shown. Draw your timeline in your Reader/Writer 2,000 people were dead, and Notebook. the city lay in ruins.

Mr. Quinn moves Mr. Quinn returns for dinner Author store goods to and shares his worries about Online higher levels. the rising water. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-107

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

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VA_L10PE-u01s6-brflo.indd 107 3/28/11 11:29:17 AM The Johnstown Flood David McCullough

On the morning of the 31st, James Quinn had gone to the store early to supervise the moving of goods to higher levels. Before leaving home he had told everyone to stay inside. One of his children, Marie, was already sick with What does the photograph convey to you about the measles, and he did not want the others out in the rain catching cold. He destructive force of the did, however, allow young Vincent to come along with him downtown to lend Johnstown flood? a hand. At noon, when he had returned for dinner, the water had been up to his curbstone. He had been restless and worried through the meal, talking about the water rising in the streets and his lack of confidence in the South 10 Fork dam. a a chronological A few days before, he and his wife and the infant, Tom, and Lalia had gone order to Scottdale for a christening, and Mrs. Quinn and the two children had What signal words in stayed on to visit with her sister. Now Aunt Abbie and Libby Hipp were more lines 1–10 tell you when the events took place? or less running things, and he was doing his best to make sure they understood the seriousness of the situation. “James, you are too anxious,” his sister-in-law said. “This big house could never go.” In recalling the day years afterward, Gertrude felt sure that her father was so worried that he would have moved them all to the hill that morning, even 20 though he had no special place to take them, if it had not been for Marie. He was afraid of the effect the light might have on her eyes. After dinner he had gone back to the store, and Gertrude slipped out onto the front porch where she began dangling her feet in the water, which, by now, covered the yard just deep enough for the ducks to sport about among the flowers. Everyone who survived the flood would carry some especially vivid mental picture of how things had looked just before the great wave struck; for b mood Reread lines 22–28. What this child it would be the sight of those ducks, and purple pansies floating face mood do these unusual up, like lily pads, in the yellow water. b details create?

108 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s6-Flood.indd 108 3/28/11 9:15:31 AM VA_L10PE-u01s6-Flood.indd 109 3/28/11 9:15:14 AM Shortly before four Gertrude’s father suddenly appeared in front of her. He 30 took her with one hand, with the other gave her a couple of quick spanks for disobeying his order to stay inside, and hurried her through the door. “Then he gave me a lecture on obedience, wet feet, and our perilous position; he said he had come to take us to the hill and that we were delayed because my shoes and stockings had to be changed again. He was smoking a cigar while the nurse was changing my clothes. Then he went to the door to toss off the ashes.” It was then that he saw the dark mist and heard the sound of the wave coming. He rushed back inside, shouting, “Run for your lives. Follow me straight to the hill.” 40 Someone screamed to him about the baby with the measles. He leaped up the stairs and in no more than a minute was back down with Marie wrapped in a blanket, his face white and terrified-looking. “Follow me,” he said. “Don’t go back for anything. Don’t go back for anything.” Everyone started out the door except Vincent. Just where he was no one knew. Helen and Rosemary ran on either side of their father, holding on to his elbows as he carried the baby. When they got to the street the water was nearly to Rosemary’s chin, but she kept going, and kept trying to balance the umbrella she had somehow managed to bring along. The hill was at most only a hundred yards away. All they had to do was get two short blocks to the end 50 of Main and they would be safe. c c mood James Quinn started running, confident that everyone was with him. But Reread lines 37–50. What Aunt Abbie, who was carrying her baby, and Libby Hipp, who had Gertrude details help create a in her arms, had turned back. mood of terror? When she reached the top of the steps that led from the yard down to the street, Aunt Abbie had had second thoughts. “I don’t like to put my feet in that dirty water,” Gertrude would remember her saying. Libby said she would do whatever Aunt Abbie thought best, so they started back into the house. “Well, I kicked and scratched and bit her, and gave her a terrible time, 60 because I wanted to be with my father,” Gertrude said later. How the two women, each with a child, ever got to the third floor as fast as they did was something she was never quite able to figure out. Once there, they went to the front window, opened it, and looked down into the street. Gertrude described the scene as looking “like the Day of Judgment I had seen as a little girl in Bible histories,” with crowds of people running, screaming, dragging children, struggling to keep their feet in the water. d chronological Her father meanwhile had reached dry land on the hill, and turning around order saw no signs of the rest of his family among the faces pushing past him. He Notice the signal word meanwhile. What two grabbed hold of a big butcher boy named Kurtz, gave him Marie, told him to sets of actions occur at 70 watch out for the other two girls, and started back to the house. d the same time?

110 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s6-Flood.indd 110 3/28/11 9:14:33 AM But he had gone only a short way when he saw the wave, almost on top of him, demolishing everything, and he knew he could never make it. There was a split second of indecision, then he turned back to the hill, running with all his might as the water surged along the street after him. In the last few seconds, fighting the current around him that kept getting deeper and faster every second, he reached the hillside just as the wave pounded by below. e e grammar and style Looking behind he saw his house rock back and forth, then lunge sideways, Reread lines 71–76. topple over, and disappear. Notice how McCullough Gertrude never saw the wave. The sight of the crowds jamming through the makes the scene’s action come to life through 80 street had so terrified her aunt and Libby Hipp that they had pulled back from the use of strong verbs the window, horrified, dragging her with them into an open cupboard. and verb forms, such as “Libby, this is the end of the world, we will all die together,” Aunt Abbie demolishing, surged, and sobbed, and dropped to her knees and began praying hysterically, “Jesus, Mary, pounded. and Joseph, Have mercy on us, oh, God . . .” Gertrude started screaming and jumping up and down, calling “Papa, Papa, Papa,” as fast as she could get it out. The cupboard was in what was the dining room of an elaborate playhouse built across the entire front end of the third floor. There was nothing like it anywhere else in town, the whole place having been fitted out and furnished 90 by Quinn’s store. There was a long center hall and a beautifully furnished parlor at one end and little bedrooms with doll beds, bureaus, washstands, and ingrain carpets on the floors. The dining room had a painted table, chairs, sideboard with tiny dishes, hand-hemmed tablecloths, napkins, and silverware. From where she crouched in the back of the cupboard, Gertrude could see across the dining room into a miniature kitchen with its own table and chairs, handmade iron stove, and, on one wall, a whole set of iron cooking utensils hanging on little hooks. Libby Hipp was holding her close, crying and trembling. Then the big house gave a violent shudder. Gertrude saw the tiny pots and 100 pans begin to sway and dance. Suddenly plaster dust came down. The walls began to break up. Then, at her aunt’s feet, she saw the floor boards burst open and up gushed a fountain of yellow water. “And these boards were jagged . . . and I looked at my aunt, and they didn’t say a word then. All the praying stopped, and they gasped, and looked down like this, and were gone, immediately gone.” She felt herself falling and reaching out for something to grab on to and trying as best she could to stay afloat. “I kept paddling and grabbing and spitting and spitting and trying to keep the sticks and dirt and this horrible water out of my mouth.” 110 Somehow she managed to crawl out of a hole in the roof or wall, she never knew which. All she saw was a glimmer of light, and she scrambled with all her strength to get to it, up what must have been the lath1 on part of the house

1. lath: a narrow strip of wood used to support plaster or tiles.

the johnstown flood 111

VA_L10PE-u01s6-Flood.indd 111 3/28/11 9:14:25 AM What does the drawing communicate about the flood that the photo on page 109 does not? A bridge washed away by the Johnstown Flood

underneath one of the gables.2 She got through the opening, never knowing what had become of her aunt, Libby, or her baby cousin. Within seconds the whole house was gone and everyone in it. The next thing she knew, Gertrude was whirling about on top of a muddy mattress that was being buoyed up by debris but that kept tilting back and forth as she struggled to get her balance. She screamed for help. Then a dead horse slammed against her raft, pitching one end of it up into the air and 120 nearly knocking her off. She hung on for dear life, until a tree swung by, snagging the horse in its branches before it plunged off with the current in another direction, the dead animal bobbing up and down, up and down, in and out of the water, like a gigantic, gruesome rocking horse. f f MOOD Weak and shivering with cold, she lay down on the mattress, realizing for What do the details the first time that all her clothes had been torn off except for her underwear. about the dead horse Night was coming on and she was terribly frightened. She started praying in contribute to the mood of the passage? German, which was the only way she had been taught to pray. A small white house went sailing by, almost running her down. She called out to the one man who was riding on top, straddling the peak of the roof and 130 hugging the chimney with both arms. But he ignored her, or perhaps never heard her, and passed right by. “You terrible man,” she shouted after him. “I’ll never help you.” Then a long roof, which may have been what was left of the Arcade Building, came plowing toward her, looking as big as a steamboat and loaded down with perhaps twenty people. She called out to them, begging someone to

2. gable: a triangular portion of a roof.

112 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s6-Flood.indd 112 3/28/11 9:14:14 AM save her. One man started up, but the others seemed determined to stop him. They held on to him and there was an endless moment of talk back and forth between them as he kept pulling to get free. Then he pushed loose and jumped into the current. His head bobbed 140 up, then went under again. Several times more he came up and went under. Gertrude kept screaming for him to swim to her. Then he was heaving himself over the side of her raft, and the two of them headed off downstream, Gertrude nearly strangling him as she clung to his neck. The big roof in the meantime had gone careening on until it hit what must have been a whirlpool in the current and began spinning round and round. Then, quite suddenly, it struck something and went down, carrying at least half its passengers with it. g g chronological Gertrude’s new companion was a powerful, square-jawed millworker named order Maxwell McAchren, who looked like John L. Sullivan.3 How far she had Reread lines 128–147. Notice that several 150 traveled by the time he climbed aboard the mattress, she was never able to events take place in a figure out for certain. But later on she would describe seeing many flags at one short amount of time. point along the way, which suggests that she went as far up the Stony Creek as Briefly summarize what Sandy Vale Cemetery, where the Memorial Day flags could have been visible happened, in order. floating about in the water. Sandy Vale is roughly two miles from where the Quinn house had been, and when Maxwell McAchren joined her, she had come all the way back down again and was drifting with the tide near Bedford Street in the direction of the stone bridge. On a hillside, close by to the right, two men were leaning out of the window of a small white building, using long poles to carry on their own rescue 160 operation. They tried to reach out to the raft, but the distance was too great. Then one of them called out, “Throw that baby over here.” McAchren shouted back, “Do you think you can catch her?” “We can try,” they answered. The child came flying through the air across about ten to fifteen feet of water and landed in the arms of Mr. Henry Koch, proprietor of Koch House, a small hotel and saloon (mostly saloon) on Bedford Street. The other man in the room with him was George Skinner, a Negro porter, who had been holding Koch by the legs when he made the catch. The men stripped Gertrude of her wet underclothes, wrapped her in a blanket, and put her on a cot. Later she 170 was picked up and carried to the hill, so bundled up in the warm blanket that she could not see out, nor could anyone see in very well. h h conflict Every so often she could hear someone saying, “What have you got there?” How is the conflict And the answer came back, “A little girl we rescued.” Then she could hear resolved? What builds suspense just before this people gathering around and saying, “Let’s have a look.” Off would come part resolution? of the blanket in front of her face and she would look out at big, close-up faces looking in. Heads would shake. “Don’t know her,” they would say, and again the blanket would come over her face and on they would climb.

3. John L. Sullivan: a boxing champion in the late 1800s.

the johnstown flood 113

VA_L10PE-u01s6-Flood.indd 113 3/28/11 9:13:59 AM Survivors of the Johnstown flood take shelter in a cave.

Gertrude never found out who it was that carried her up the hill, but he eventually deposited her with a family named Metz, who lived in a frame 10.3g 180 tenement also occupied by five other families. The place looked like paradise Language Coach to her, but she was still so terrified that she was unable to say a word as the Multiple-Meaning Words Metz children, neighbors, and people in off the street jammed into the kitchen The word deposited has more than one meaning. In to look at her as she lay wrapped now in a pair of red-flannel underwear with line 179, it means “set down.” Mason jars full of hot water packed all around her. You may have heard it used Later, she was put to bed upstairs, but exhausted as she was she was unable in other ways. What does it to sleep. In the room with her were three other refugees from the disaster, mean in this sentence? grown women by the name of Bowser, who kept getting up and going to Abe deposited his paycheck directly into his checking the window, where she could hear them gasping and whispering among account. themselves. After a while Gertrude slipped quietly out of bed and across the 190 dark room. Outside the window, down below where the city had been, she could now see only firelight reflecting on the water. It looked, as she said later, for all the world like ships burning at sea.  i i MOOD How has the mood changed at the end of the selection? What atmosphere does the last image create?

114 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s6-Flood.indd 114 3/28/11 9:13:47 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall Where did Mr. Quinn order everyone to go when he heard the 10.4f Examine a literary selection wave coming? from several critical perspectives. 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s Q specific word choices, syntax, tone, 2. Recall Why didn’t Gertrude go with Mr. uinn? and voice shape the intended meaning of the text, achieve special 3. Recall What happened to the Quinns’ house? effects and support the author’s purpose. 10.4i Compare and 4. Clarify How was Gertrude finally rescued? contrast literature from different cultures and eras. 10.5a Identify text organization and structure. Text Analysis 5. Understand Chronological Order Use the timeline you created as you read to summarize the story, noting how each event connects to the next. 6. Identify Cause and Effect What most accounts for Gertrude’s miraculous survival—sheer luck, Gertrude’s own actions, or others’ actions? Give evidence from the narrative to support your answer.

7. Analyze Mood Describe the overall mood McCullough creates in his account of the Johnstown flood. How do the diction, syntax, and imagery used by the author help create this mood? Which passages are most effective? 8. Compare and Contrast Settings Both the excerpt from The Johnstown Flood and the story “To Build a Fire” are about people trying to survive in dangerous settings. Compare and contrast the settings and the roles they play in the selections. Record your ideas on a Venn diagram like the one shown.

“To Build The Johnstown Both a Fire” Flood • threaten • frigid • sudden people’s wilderness city flood lives

Text Criticism 9. Critical Interpretations David McCullough has said that in his writing he tries to make history “as interesting and human as it really was.” Do you think he succeeds in doing so in the selection from The Johnstown Flood? Explain, giving examples from the narrative to support your opinion.

Is SURVIVAL a matter of chance? What could increase your chances of surviving a disaster?

the johnstown flood 115

VA_L10PE-u01s6-arFlo.indd 115 4/7/11 12:11:13 PM Virginia Standards Language of Learning grammar and style: Emphasize Action 10.5d Compare and contrast Review the Grammar and Style note on page 111. Like McCullough, you can informational texts. 10.6d Write clear and varied sentences, clarifying create exciting action sequences by incorporating strong verbs into your ideas with precise and relevant writing. Choose verbs that create a vivid image for your reader. Avoid those that evidence. are too general or overused. Here are some examples of McCullough’s use of strong verbs. . . . the floor boards burst open and up gushed a fountain of yellow water. (lines 101–102) . . . a dead horse slammed against her raft . . . (lines 118–119) Notice how the revisions in blue use strong verbs to emphasize the action in this first draft. Revise your own writing by using similar techniques.

student model washed Gertrude and Amber were taken away by the floodwaters, and had to cling encountered hold onto debris to stay afloat. However, both met people who wanted to help them.

reading-writing connection YOUR Increase your understanding of the selection from The Johnstown Flood by responding to this prompt. Then use the revising tip to TURN improve your writing.

writing prompt revising tip

Extended Constructed Response Review your response. The story of Amber Colvin, on the next page, tells of How have you used a modern child who, like Gertrude Quinn, survived strong verbs to create a deadly flood. What do the two stories suggest to vivid images for your you about survival in a disaster? What insights into readers? Interactive Revision human behavior do they give you? Write three to five paragraphs in response. Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-116

116 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s6-arFlo.indd 116 3/28/11 8:47:09 AM Reading for Information MAGAZINE ARTICLE Though technology can help us predict natural disasters and often reduce the extent of their destructiveness, nature still has a mind of its own.

MICHAEL NEILL AND KEN MYERS Nine-year-old Amber Colvin Rides Out a Killer Flood in Ohio

bout 9:30 on the night waters broke down the bathroom thinking there was no hope for Aof June 14, 1990, a flash door and swept the tub from me to live.” Once she survived flood hit the small town of the floor. “It took me so far the millrace ride to the calmer Shadyside, Ohio, leaving up I bumped my head on the Ohio, though, Amber realized death and destruction in its ceiling,” Amber recalls. . . . she had a chance. She floated wake. Before the rain started, When the two girls pressed for seven miles more, at times Dennis and Karen Colvin their hands against the ceiling, dozing briefly as she gripped had driven to a nearby town it gave way, and they were flung the log for eight hours, until it to do errands and left their out into the full fury of raging drifted ashore around 6:30 a.m. daughter, 9-year-old Amber, Wegee Creek. . . . As the tub near Route 7. Amber managed playing at home with her splintered into pieces, Kerri was to flag down Randy and Mitzie friend, 12-year-old Kerri hit on the head—and was lost. Ramsey of Bellaire. . . . “Amber Polivka. Suddenly the flood “I tried to save her,” says Amber, was cold—but real alert and was in full force, and Amber . . . “I saw her hair and tried to talkative,” says Mitzie. . . . and Kerri were on their own, grab it. I pulled it up, then I had When Dennis and Karen fighting for their lives. to let go.” Amber then lunged had tried to drive home the out, grabbed a floating log—and night before, they had been The Colvins’ basement was clung to it all the way down the stopped at a police roadblock. inundated, and soon the girls Wegee and into the Ohio River, The Colvins then walked down were ankle-deep in water in 1 1 /2 miles away. a hill untouched by the flood the living room. At Kerri’s “I went under twice,” she that stood behind their rented suggestion, they got into the says, “once when the house went two-bedroom home, only to bathtub for protection, but and the second time when I tried find the house had vanished, within minutes the surging to save Kerri. . . . I was torn away by Wegee’s waters. “Denny and I just held each other,” says Karen. “Right there, I thought, there’s no way. Amber Colvin and her parents I thought she was dead,” says Dennis. “Somebody was looking out for her, that’s for sure.”

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VA_L10PE-u01s6-c2AmC.indd 117 3/28/11 11:00:52 AM Before Reading

Video link at The Race to Save Apollo 13 thinkcentral.com Nonfiction by Michael Useem

How can we achieve the IMPOSSIBLE?

Virginia Standards Some situations may seem hopeless at first. But when lives are at of Learning stake, people often find a way to achieve the impossible. In “The 10.3a Use structural analysis of roots, affixes, synonyms, antonyms, Race to Save Apollo 13,” Michael Useem describes the extraordinary and cognates to understand efforts of NASA employees to rescue astronauts aboard a damaged complex words. 10.3f Extend general and specialized vocabulary spacecraft. through speaking, reading, and Emergency Strategies writing. 10.5 The student will read, interpret, analyze, and evaluate DISCUSS With a small group, discuss strategies that can 1. Stay calm. nonfiction texts. 10.5b Recognize help people deal with an emergency. Share your list of 2. Share information. an author’s intended audience and purpose for writing. 10.5h Use strategies with the class. 3. reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor 4. comprehension. 5.

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-brRac.indd 118 3/28/11 9:51:43 AM Meet the Author text analysis: suspense in nonfiction To draw the reader into a story, writers often create suspense— Michael Useem a feeling of excitement or tension about what will happen born 1942 next. In nonfiction, a writer may create suspense by raising Deciding Moments questions about the outcome of a situation or by emphasizing Michael Useem (yL-sCmP) is a University the risks involved. For example, in “The Race to Save Apollo 13,” of Pennsylvania professor who specializes in Michael Useem lets the reader know how much is at stake in issues of leadership. “The Race to Save Apollo 13” is taken from his book The Leadership the situation faced by the flight director. Moment: Nine True Stories of Triumph and He understood as well that his actions in the hours ahead might Disaster and Their Lessons for Us All, which determine whether the U.S. space program experienced or relates how leaders from various walks of life have made extremely difficult decisions avoided its biggest disaster. during emergencies. Useem believes that As you read, notice the details that Useem included to increase their experiences illustrate what to do—and the suspense of the narrative. what not to do—in times of crisis. background to the selection reading strategy: take notes Space Race “The Race to Save Apollo 13” contains many details about In May 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued equipment and procedures used in the space mission. When a challenge in a speech to Congress, stating you read this type of information-rich text, take notes to help that the United States should become the you understand and remember important information. Your first nation to land astronauts on the moon and return them home safely. Kennedy notes may include believed this goal was necessary because the • key words and phrases from the text Soviet Union had recently sent a human into space. • summaries (essential ideas rephrased in your own words) The Apollo Program • diagrams, charts, and other graphic organizers Although Kennedy did not live to see it, NASA As you read “The Race to Save Apollo 13,” take notes about the achieved his goal. In July 1969, the Apollo problems people face and the solutions they find. Use a chart program successfully landed astronauts on the moon, and about 700 million television like the one shown. viewers around the world watched the historic moment. But after the mission Problem Solution ended, it was difficult to keep up this level The fuel cells that provided The astronauts shut down all of excitement. The launch of Apollo 13 in electricity to Odyssey were losing power in Odyssey and moved into April 1970 stirred little public interest. That pressure. the LEM. changed when an oxygen tank exploded aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft Odyssey. In just moments, a seemingly routine mission vocabulary in context became a full-blown crisis. Michael Useem used the following boldfaced words to describe NASA procedures. To see how many you know, substitute a Author different word or phrase for each boldfaced term. Online 1. replenish our supplies 4. her innovative approach Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-119. 2. the ball’s trajectory in the air 5. a respite from our labor 3. a mandate from my boss 6. collaborative employees

Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-brRac.indd 119 3/28/11 9:51:22 AM TheTheTheThe RaceRaceRaceRace totototo SaveSaveSaveSave APOLLOAPOLLOAPOLLOAPOLLO 13131313 Michael Useem

“What do you think we’ve got in the spacecraft that’s good?” “What do you think we’ve got in the spacecraft that’s good?”

“Hey, we’ve got a problem here.” The day was April 13, 1970. The voice was that of astronaut Jack Swigert, 10.3a speaking from aboard the spacecraft Odyssey. Language Coach Almost immediately, NASA’s Mission Control queried back: “This is Etymologies Reread line Houston. Say again, please.” 2. The word astronaut Astronaut and mission commander James Lovell responded this time: comes from the Greek “Houston, we’ve had a problem.” words astron, meaning “star” and naute-s, For flight director Eugene Kranz, the message from Apollo 13 presaged the meaning “sailor.” Use a test of a lifetime. dictionary to fi nd other 10 Only nine months earlier, on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 had landed Neil words that use astron or Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in the Sea of Tranquillity,1 fulfilling John F. naute-s. Kennedy’s promise to place a man on the moon before the end of the decade. Five months earlier, Apollo 12 had placed Pete Conrad and Alan Bean in the Ocean of Storms. Just fifty-five hours earlier, at 1:13 p.m. on Saturday, April 11, 1970, Apollo 13 had lifted up from the Kennedy Space Center on what to this moment had seemed a flawless trip to the moon’s ridges of Fra Mauro.2 Now, suddenly, the bottom was falling out.

1. Sea of Tranquillity: many areas of the moon are called seas or oceans, although the moon has no liquid water. 2. Fra Mauro: the area on the moon where Apollo 13 was supposed to land.

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 120 3/28/11 11:12:44 AM What can you infer from the expression on Eugene Kranz’s face in the photograph? NASA flight director Eugene Kranz at his console

NASA technician George Bliss was both transfixed and horrified by what he saw on his computer console3 in a Houston back room. “We got more 20 than a problem,” he warned colleague Sy Liebergot. The video screen told why: One of Odyssey’s two oxygen tanks had broken down. The pressure in two of its three fuel cells, devices that use oxygen to generate electricity, was plummeting. As Gene Kranz sifted through damage reports, the picture was distressing. The astronauts and their protective shell were unscathed, but it was evident that some kind of explosion had ripped through vital equipment. Two days into the flight, three quarters of the way to the moon, the astronauts were hurtling away from Earth at 2,000 miles per hour. The only practical way they could return was to round the moon and depend on its gravity to fire 30 them back like a slingshot. But this would require more than three days and demand more oxygen and electricity than Lovell and his crew had left. a a SUSPENSE As flight director for Apollo 13, Kranz was the responsible official, and What facts in lines he was watching his mission spin out of control: his crew would consume 24–31 help generate their oxygen and power long before they neared Earth. Even if they survived suspense? to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere, they would have no way to control their capsule’s fiery plunge. Kranz could neither retrieve the astronauts nor replenish their supplies. He knew what options were out, yet he also knew replenish (rG-plDnPGsh) he must somehow engineer a safe return. He understood as well that his v. to fill again

3. computer console: a computer’s monitor and keyboard.

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 121 3/28/11 11:12:20 AM actions in the hours ahead might determine whether the U.S. space program 40 experienced or avoided its biggest disaster.

The Explosion’s Wake Hundreds of officials and engineers confronted the singular task of bringing the astronauts back alive. Four rotating flight teams—dubbed White, Black, Gold, and Maroon—were scheduled to spell one another during the mission’s long days ahead. A backup crew for Apollo 13 was on call to lend its expertise. Dozens of space program contractors were ready to assist. Yet no one on the ground bore the burden that Eugene Kranz carried that evening and would continue to carry over the next four days. NASA’s policy was unflinchingly clear: the flight director had the final call on all decisions. Moreover, “The flight director can do anything he feels is necessary for the 50 safety of the crew and the conduct of the flight regardless of the mission rules.” As Sy Liebergot, the frontline electrical official, gazed at his console in the minutes just after the explosion, he allowed himself to hope that the ominous screen displays might reflect sensor failure rather than a genuine problem. During NASA’s countless simulations4 of the flight, he had often seen disastrous instrument readings that had later proved inaccurate. The astronauts themselves were reporting that their oxygen tanks seemed fine, lending momentary support to Liebergot’s hopeful search for instrumental error. But Kranz was already learning from other flight officials that the problems were indeed real. The guidance officer reported that an onboard 60 computer was signaling a major glitch. The communications officer reported that the craft had mysteriously switched antennas. (As would be learned later, one had been hit by the explosion’s debris.) And the astronauts themselves soon reported that one oxygen tank had emptied, two of the three fuel cells were generating no electricity, and two panels supplying power to the entire spacecraft were losing voltage. Lovell added even more distressing news: “We are venting5 something into space.” A glowing cloud was hovering outside Odyssey, suggesting rupture of its oxygen tanks. “OK,” called Kranz, sensing signs of panic in Mission Control. “Let’s everybody keep cool. Let’s make sure we don’t do anything that’s going to 70 blow our electrical power or cause us to lose fuel cell number two.” Then he addressed what would have to be done. “Let’s solve the problem.” And finally he moved on to self-discipline: “Let’s not make it any worse by guessing.” b TAKE NOTES b What problems did By now, more bad news from Odyssey. Though a moon landing had Kranz want to prevent been eliminated by the loss of the first oxygen tank and fuel cell, the at Mission Control?

4. simulations: here, mock space flights used to test procedures and train astronauts. 5. venting: discharging.

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 122 3/28/11 11:11:53 AM This diagram was created on April 15, 1970, to illustrate the plan for saving the Apollo 13 voyage. What information does a graphic aid of this sort help clarify?

second system should still carry the astronauts safely home. Lovell noticed, however, that the pressure needle for the second tank was falling as well, and Liebergot was discovering the same thing. Normally the tank should register 860 pounds per square inch (psi); now it was approaching 300. The 80 explosion had come at 9:07 p.m., and the clock was now just past 10 p.m. At that rate of loss, the spaceship would exhaust all of its electricity and air sometime between midnight and 3 a.m. Kranz telephoned the home of Chris Kraft—the former flight director and his onetime mentor, and now deputy director of the Manned Spacecraft Center. Kraft’s wife pulled him out of the shower, and he heard Kranz urging, “Chris, you’d better get over here now. We’ve got a hell of a problem. We’ve lost oxygen pressure, we’ve lost a bus [an electrical power distribution system], we’re losing fuel cells. It seems there’s been an explosion.” Kranz, age thirty-six, had worked with NASA for a decade, overseeing all Apollo 90 missions since taking over from Kraft when the prior Gemini series had come to an end. He was an experienced hand who sounded no undue alarm, solicited no unneeded counsel. Kraft raced to the space center, just ten miles away. When he arrived, Kranz brought his former mentor up to speed. . . . With the oxygen for Odyssey’s life support systems in rapid decline, Kranz barked rapid-fire demands for information and support to attack the problems.

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 123 3/28/11 11:11:29 AM To the telemetry and electrical officer: “Will you take a look at the prelaunch data6 and see if there’s anything that may have started the venting?” To the technicians running NASA’s fast, on-site computers: “Bring up another computer . . . will you?” 100 To the guidance and navigation officer: “Give me a gross amount of the thruster propellants7 consumed so far.” To Sy Liebergot: “What does the status of your buses tell you now?”

Off line, Liebergot and his backup engineer, George Bliss, were reaching even more forlorn conclusions: The single remaining oxygen tank was below 300 psi of pressure and losing another 1.7 psi each minute. If tank pressure fell below 100 psi, it would have insufficient force to move its precious contents into the fuel cells for power generation, and that point was just 116 minutes away. They made several attempts to stem the flow, but none succeeded.

110 Liebergot: “George, it looks grim.” Bliss: “Yes, it does.” Liebergot: “We’re going down. We’re losing it.” Bliss: “Yes, we are.”

6. prelaunch data: information collected before launch of a spacecraft. 7. thruster propellants: fuel for rockets used to maneuver spacecraft.

Apollo 13 control room

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 124 3/28/11 11:11:04 AM Now Liebergot was back on line with Kranz, arguing that the astronauts must move immediately into the attached lunar excursion module (LEM). Dubbed Aquarius on this mission, the LEM had been designed to set two astronauts on the moon and sustain life for several days. For three astronauts, Aquarius would be overcrowded, the power system would not work for long, and it would vaporize on reentry. But for the moment 120 it would have to do. The dying command module would support the astronauts for a matter of minutes; the LEM at least offered hours. Kranz again sought instant analysis. “I want you guys figuring our minimum power needed in the LEM to sustain life,” he instructed a LEM technical group, which had anticipated no real action until the planned moon landing two days later. “And I want LEM manning around the clock.” The oxygen loss from Odyssey was accelerating to 3 psi per minute, and Bliss now estimated that they had eighteen minutes left before total power shutdown. A few moments later, he revised that down to seven minutes. And then, a moment later, to four. c c SUSPENSE 130 The Black Team had just taken over from White, and Glynn Lunney, How do the references who would spell Kranz at the director’s console while the White Team stood to time in lines 126–129 down, sent up an urgent command: “Get ‘em going in the LEM!” Lovell increase suspense? and Haise moved through the connecting hatch, and while Swigert stayed behind to wind down Odyssey, they powered up Aquarius. They worked frantically to transfer irreplaceable guidance data from the command module into the LEM computer in the seconds before everything was lost. Finally, Lovell radioed Houston, “Aquarius is up, and Odyssey is completely powered down.” There was a momentary relief, but with days to go, they had bought only 140 a little time. “OK, everybody,” counseled Lunney, “we’ve got a lot of long- range problems to deal with.”

Oxygen and Power Among the mission’s first long-range problems was that the return trajectory would miss the Earth by some forty thousand miles. The trajectory astronauts would need to fire the LEM’s rocket in just five hours to close (trE-jDkPtE-rC) n. the the gap. Producing the precision adjustment, however, would require path of a moving body immediate, massive recalibrations of instruments. By now the teams in through space Houston were humming, and they delivered the requisite data to Jim Lovell and his crew with an hour to spare. While Glynn Lunney staffed the director’s console, Kranz remained only 150 feet away, his mind turning over what to do next. He had already passed word that as soon as Houston had the fuel burn plan set, he would meet

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 125 3/28/11 11:10:36 AM with his entire White Team in a nearby room. As it gathered, Kranz laid mandate down his new mandate: “For the rest of this mission, I am pulling you men (mBnPdAtQ) n. off console. The people out in that room will be running the flight from a command or moment to moment, but it’s the people in this room who will be coming instruction up with the protocols they’re going to be executing. From now on, what I want from every one of you is simple: options, and plenty of them.” Their new name would be the Tiger Team, and for the remainder of the flight they would work and live in Room 210. 160 A mere twenty feet by twenty feet and windowless, Room 210 was bare except for several overhead TVs and tables along the walls, but its location was good: adjacent to the operations room and just a floor below the control room. Above all, it permitted the team to assemble all past and current data in one place. Now, Kranz believed, they could determine what had happened and was happening, essential for deciding what should happen next. d TAKE NOTES d Summarize the Kranz pressed them to focus on solutions. He sought to build, he later reasons Kranz created reported, “a positive frame of mind that is necessary to work problems in a new team that a time-critical and true emergency environment.” And he wanted quick would work in a separate room. answers to specific questions:

170 “How long can you keep the systems in the LEM running at full power?” “Where do we stand on water? What about battery power? What about oxygen?” “In three or four days we’re going to have to use the command module again. I want to know how we can get that bird powered up and running from a cold stop . . . and do it all on just the power we’ve got left in the reentry batteries.” “I also want to know how we plan to align this ship if we can’t use a star alignment. Can we use sun checks? Can we use moon checks? What about Earth checks?” 180 “I want options on . . . burns and midcourse corrections from now to entry.” “What ocean does it put us in?”

Once again, Kranz insisted on strategies and solutions without guesswork: “For the next few days we’re going to be coming up with techniques and maneuvers we’ve never tried before,” he concluded. “And I want to make sure we know what we’re doing.” Kranz left his men to do their work and returned to the control room. Glynn Lunney of the Black Team had focused everybody on the forthcoming course correction, and minutes later Lovell and his colleagues

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 126 3/28/11 11:10:10 AM 190 executed a flawless blast of the LEM’s engines. In one of the first bits of good news since disaster struck, they had corrected their path perfectly. Good news, though, was still in terribly short supply. The new course required nearly four days for return, and Aquarius was provisioned for less than two. The LEM’s oxygen supply was not a problem since enough had been placed on board for several moon walks, yet its supply of lithium hydroxide was another story. This chemical was carried to remove carbon dioxide accumulating in the cabin, but its LEM capacity was for two men for two days, not for three men for twice that long. The available electricity would last for even less time if Aquarius remained fully powered. Water, too, 200 was in desperately short supply. e e SUSPENSE Kranz decided he wanted more seasoned talent crunching the numbers. What details in He sent the Tiger Team’s electrical specialist back to the consoles on Tuesday lines 192 –200 raise questions about morning and in his place recruited Bill Peters from the Gold Team. Other the outcome of the flight directors had sometimes found Peters slow to react and explain. mission? But Kranz had constructed a relationship with him, and he knew that he brought exceptional experience: Peters had worked every space mission since Gemini 3 in 1965. “Peters was utterly brilliant,” Kranz recalled, but he could not explain himself well and one had to work with him to “bring out the pieces.” 210 After consulting with Kranz and the lead engineer for Grumman Aerospace, the LEM maker, Peters was heartened by his preliminary calculations: He could find ways to cut Aquarius’s electrical flow from 55 amperes to 12, though this would require draconian8 measures on board: no computer, no guidance system, no heater, no panel display. Communications would stay up, a fan would stir the air, and a little coolant would circulate. Otherwise, all systems would be off. Kranz also recruited another outsider, John Aaron, the Maroon Team’s twenty-seven-year-old electrical specialist. He understood power better than anyone else, he was innovative, and he was unflappable—“Mr. Cool under innovative 220 pressure” in Kranz’s phrase. Kranz charged Aaron with a similar task for (GnPE-vAQtGv) conserving Odyssey’s power, and together they took a first cut at the figures. adj. able to create new, Their numbers were encouraging, and Aaron designed the plan. He believed original ideas he could find the power to rev up the command module for reentry—but only if almost all engineering corners were cut. Aaron patiently presented his plan to a skeptical Tiger Team, reporting that the powering up, normally a full day’s affair, could take no more than two hours. Bill Strahle, a guidance and navigation officer, interjected, “John, you can’t do it in that time.” Aaron responded, “Well, now, that’s what I

8. draconian: extremely harsh.

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 127 3/28/11 11:09:44 AM thought, Bill. But I think if we’re willing to take a few shortcuts, we just 230 might be able to pull it off.” Late on the evening of Tuesday, April 14, nearly twenty-four hours after the accident, Lovell and crew rounded the moon and were scheduled to fire 10.3f the LEM’s rocket to accelerate their return to Earth. The engine burn, like Language Coach virtually all other maneuvers of the past day, would be crucial, but this one Multiple-Meaning would be especially so. The smallest error of alignment or duration would Words The word fire has send the ship in a wrong direction with virtually no fuel remaining for more than one meaning. any correction. Though the Gold Team was still on duty as the time of the In line 232 it means “to ignite.” What does it scheduled firing approached, Kranz decided to install his own Tiger Team mean in the following at the controls. His men quietly walked into Mission Control, muttered sentences? 240 apologies to their sitting counterparts, and took over the consoles. Under The fire burned many Kranz’s direction, the “big burn” worked. Another essential milestone for the acres of forest. The manager had to fire journey home had been reached, and the room erupted with cheers. the lazy employee. The moment’s glow had barely passed when three men made their way from different directions to Kranz’s workstation. Chris Kraft was one; Deke Slayton, astronaut and director of flight crew operations, the second. Max Faget, engineering director for the entire Manned Spacecraft Center, trailed slightly behind. “So what’s our next step here, Gene?” opened Slayton, one of the original seven Mercury astronauts.

Kranz: “Well, Deke, we’re gonna work on that.” 250 Slayton: “I’m not sure how much there is to work on. We’re going to put the crew to bed, right?” Kranz: “Eventually, sure.” Slayton: “Eventually may not do it, Gene. Their last scheduled sleep period was twenty-four hours ago. They’re going to need some rest.”

Now Kraft jumped in.

Kraft: “How do we stand with that power-down problem, Gene?” Kranz: “It’s coming along, Chris.” Kraft: “We ready to execute it?” Kranz: “We’re ready, but it’s a long procedure and Deke thinks we ought 260 to get the crew ready to sleep first.” Kraft: “Sleep? A sleep period’s six hours! Take the crew off stream that long before powering down, and you’re wasting six hours of juice you don’t need to waste.”

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 128 3/28/11 11:09:18 AM Slayton: “But if you keep them up and have them execute a complicated power-down when they’re barely awake, someone’s bound to screw something up. I’d rather spend a little extra power now than risk another disaster later.”

10.5b Max Faget appeared, and Kranz drew him into the discussion. f AUTHOR’S PURPOSE An author’s purpose is Kranz: “Max, Deke and Chris were just telling me what they think our what the writer hopes 270 next step ought to be.” to achieve in a particular Faget: “Passive thermal control,9 right?” work. The main purpose Slayton, alarmed: “PTC?” of this narrative is to show readers an Faget: “Sure. That ship’s had one side pointing to the sun and one pointing example of leadership in out to space for hours. If we don’t get some kind of barbeque roll going on a crisis. To achieve this soon, we’re going to freeze half our systems and cook the other half.” purpose, Useem shares Slayton: “Do you have any idea what kind of pressure it’s going to put on both important details the crew to ask them to execute a PTC roll now?” and less important details with his readers. Kraft: “Or what kind of pressure it’s going to put on the available power? Reread lines 281–295, I’m not sure we can afford to try something like that at the moment.” in which Useem shows 280 Faget: “I’m not sure we can afford not to.” how Kranz makes and expresses an important decision. If you were The three-way argument escalated to summarize this for several minutes, with each point passage for a friend, you and counterpoint more fiercely would share only the asserted than the last. Kranz said little most important details. throughout, mainly listening to what Which details are most important to showing his three superiors had to say. Finally, Kranz’s leadership he held up his hand, and they stopped skills? The less- speaking. important details are “Gentlemen,” Kranz said, “I thank you not unimportant details, however. These details 290 for your input.” The discussion was over, his provide background decision made: “The next job for this crew The Latin phrase on this and elaborate on the will be to execute a thermal roll. After that, insignia means “From the important details, help they will power down their spacecraft. And Moon, Knowledge.” create suspense, and finally, they will get some sleep. A tired crew can get over their fatigue, but if create a more complete picture of the event. we damage this ship any further, we’re not going to get over that.” f What are some of the With the decision made, Kranz turned to his console, and Slayton and less important details in Faget turned to leave. Kraft lingered, considered objecting, but then quietly this passage? moved off as well. His protégé was in control, and he had ruled firmly. The

9. passive thermal control: any method of controlling temperature on a spacecraft without using electricity.

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 129 3/28/11 11:08:50 AM astronauts spent the next two hours performing their assigned tasks and 300 finally began a long-overdue slumber.

The Return With the trajectory successfully fixed for the return to Earth, Kranz and his Tiger Team resumed their calculations and planning in Room 210. The biggest challenge: restarting the moribund command module. Aquarius had been life-sustaining, but the LEM would disintegrate on reentry. Odyssey would be life-returning: the command module came with a heat shield to endure reentry’s 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. For that, though, Odyssey would have to be coaxed back from dormancy—with a defunct regular electric supply and a mere two hours of power remaining in its auxiliary batteries. respite (rDsPpGt) n. a period of rest or relief It was now late Wednesday evening, and the Tiger Team had been 310 working relentlessly since Monday evening, struggling to surmount problem after problem if reentry were to succeed. Most of the team members had collaborative worked nonstop for more than forty-eight hours, and Kranz finally ordered (kE-lBbPE-rEQtGv) adj. done in cooperation a six-hour respite. Yes, they needed their sleep, but even more compelling with others was the fact that the most critical troubleshooting might finally be behind them. John Aaron, the electrical officer borrowed from the Maroon Team, g GRAMMAR had evidently found a way around Odyssey’s repowering problem. g AND STYLE It was a collaborative solution. One of the command module’s chief Reread lines 311–315. engineers, Arnie Aldrich, had worked with Aaron to ensure that the switches Rather than writing for the various systems would be thrown in a workable sequence so that a series of short sentences, Useem 320 early systems would be ready for later ones as needed. Kranz himself had uses the coordinating examined each step, and astronaut Ken Mattingly had tested everything conjunctions and and in a nearby command module simulator. Mattingly had been scheduled to but to join two sets of serve as the command module pilot for Apollo 13, but after he had been independent clauses. exposed to German measles, NASA had replaced him with Swigert. Severely disappointed at first, Mattingly now applied his insider’s knowledge to testing and refining Aaron’s scheme. Ultimately, it worked—at least on the simulator. h TAKE NOTES h How did Ken Mattingly To add to the tension, the fate of Apollo 13 had become a global drama. help solve the problem The Soviet Union volunteered rescue vessels. Religious groups across of repowering the 330 command module? America and around the world prayed for the astronauts’ safe deliverance. The Chicago Board of Trade added its own supplication, briefly suspending trading at 11 a.m. on Thursday “for a moment of tribute to the courage and gallantry of America’s astronauts and a prayer for their safe return to Earth.” By Thursday evening, just eighteen hours before splashdown, the list of procedures to restart Odyssey was finalized and ready for transmission. Kranz, Aaron, and Aldrich pushed their way through the rows of consoles

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 130 3/28/11 11:08:13 AM The command module is recovered from the Pacific Ocean after splashdown.

in Mission Control to deliver the list. Mission Control would require nearly two hours to radio the start-up sequence, line by line, to Jack Swigert, who would have to copy each of the hundreds of technical instructions by hand. 340 Swigert and crew successfully followed the start-up protocol, moved back into Odyssey, and jettisoned Aquarius. By mid-Friday, the command module was approaching Earth’s outer atmosphere at 25,000 miles per hour, and Kranz took the director’s console for the final time. With four minutes to go before Odyssey hit the atmosphere’s upper layers, Kranz stood and asked each of the system officers if they were ready. “Let’s go around the horn once more before entry,” he said. Each officer declared his readiness. Kranz gave the mission communicator, astronaut Joe Kerwin, the green light: “You can tell the crew they’re go for reentry.” Soon all radio contact with the crew was lost as intense heat enveloped 350 the plunging craft. Four minutes of anxious silence passed on the ground until the fiery spray around the capsule subsided; then Kranz instructed Kerwin to resume contact. “Odyssey,” Kerwin called. “Houston standing by,

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 131 3/28/11 11:07:36 AM over.” No response. Kranz: “Try again.” Kerwin did, again and again, to no avail, and another minute passed, more blackout time than experienced on any other mission. i SUSPENSE i How did the writer Then, faintly, came the scratchy but unmistakable voice of astronaut Jack build suspense in lines Swigert: “OK, Joe.” Moments later Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise 349–355? were floating down on three parachutes for a soft landing in the Pacific. Eugene Kranz punched the air. 360 Sy Liebergot faced weeks of recurrent nightmares about undervoltages. Jim Lovell declared the mission a failure, but, he added, “I like to think it was a successful failure.” And Grumman Aerospace, maker of the LEM, sent a mock bill for more than $312,421 to North American Rockwell, producer of the command module, for a “battery charge, road call,” and “towing fee” for returning Odyssey home. Eugene Kranz, James Lovell, and their crews matched wits with a technology failure, and they won. They orchestrated thousands of actions— many minute, some momentous—to fix what seemed unfixable. In the end, they triumphed over one of NASA’s worst nightmares.

Astronauts Fred Haise, James Lovell, and John Swigert after their return to Earth

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-Apoll.indd 132 3/28/11 11:06:35 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall What was the original goal of Apollo 13? 10.5 The student will read, interpret, analyze, and evaluate nonfiction 2. Recall Why did NASA have to cancel the mission? texts. 10.5b Recognize an author’s intended audience and purpose 3. Summarize What were the main steps taken to save the astronauts? for writing. 10.5h Use reading strategies throughout the reading process to monitor comprehension. Text Analysis 4. Make Inferences Why did astronaut James Lovell declare the Apollo 13 mission “a successful failure”? 5. Analyze Decisions What skills, knowledge, and traits did Eugene Kranz look for when choosing members of the Tiger Team? Use a graphic organizer like the one shown to record your answer.

cool under pressure

experienced in doing calculations

Tiger Team

6. Analyze Notes Review the chart you created as you read. Which of the problems provided the biggest test of Kranz’s leadership? Cite specific evidence to support your conclusion. 7. Draw Conclusions Why might the author have chosen to focus on the employees at Mission Control rather than on the astronauts in space? Support your answer. 8. Interpret Main Idea Reread lines 366–369. What idea does the writer express about the ways in which Kranz and his colleagues achieved the impossible? 9. Make Judgments Do you agree with NASA’s policy of giving the flight director final authority on all decisions during the mission? Cite evidence to support your opinion. 10. Predict How might the space program have been affected if NASA had failed to rescue the astronauts aboard Apollo 13? 11. Evaluate Suspense Michael Useem included extensive technical information in his account of Apollo 13. How well did he balance the need to explain with the need to tell a suspenseful story? Find examples to support your answer.

How can we achieve the IMPOSSIBLE? What qualities do you have that would help you deal with an emergency?

the race to save apollo 13 133

VA_L10PE-u01s7-arRac.indd 133 3/28/11 9:11:26 AM Vocabulary in Context word list vocabulary practice collaborative Identify the word that is most different in meaning from the others. innovative mandate 1. remove, empty, replenish, discard replenish 2. path, course, trajectory, perimeter respite 3. command, question, decree, mandate trajectory 4. standard, innovative, boring, unoriginal 5. rest, stillness, action, respite 6. oppositional, collaborative, solitary, dividing academic vocabulary in writing

• affect • communicate • definite • establish • identify

The problems that Apollo 13 encountered lacked a definite solution, which forced both the crew aboard the ship and the crew in Houston to improvise. Write a paragraph about a time in your life when you were faced with a difficult problem and had to improvise to solve it. Use at least one Academic Vocabulary word in your response.

vocabulary strategy: specialized vocabulary Virginia Standards of Learning The astronauts, scientists, and engineers who work at NASA have their own 10.3f Extend general and specialized specialized vocabulary. This vocabulary includes terms such as return trajectory, vocabulary through speaking, which is the path of a spacecraft on its return to Earth. It is often possible to reading, and writing. figure out the special meanings of words from the context. Otherwise, check a dictionary and look for labels—such as space flight and computer science—that may precede definitions and indicate special uses of a word.

PRACTICE Write the space flight term that matches each definition. If you need to, check a dictionary or glossary.

vent protocols bus satellite transponder

1. an electrical power distribution system 2. a small body that orbits a larger one Interactive 3. data transmissions between computers Vocabulary 4. an electronic device that combines a transmitter and a receiver Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-134 5. to release or discharge

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VA_L10PE-u01s7-arRac.indd 134 3/28/11 9:11:17 AM Virginia Standards Language of Learning grammar and style: Improve Sentence Flow 10.6d Write clear and varied Review the Grammar and Style note on page 130. Writing flows more smoothly sentences, clarifying ideas with precise and relevant evidence. when it doesn’t merely consist of short, choppy sentences. Follow Michael Useem’s example by inserting a coordinating conjunction (such as and, but, for, or, so, or yet) between two independent clauses to form a longer, compound sentence and to clarify the relationship between ideas. Remember to use a comma before a coordinating conjunction that joins two independent clauses. Here are two examples from the selection. The astronauts and their protective shell were unscathed, but it was evident that some kind of explosion had ripped through vital equipment. (lines 25–26) He knew what options were out, yet he also knew he must somehow engineer a safe return. (lines 37–38) Notice how the revisions in blue use a coordinating conjunction to make smoother sentence structures. Revise your own writing by using similar techniques.

student model A small explosion has occurred aboard the Odyssey. Some vital equipment , but was damaged. The astronauts were not harmed.

reading-writing connection YOUR Increase your understanding of “The Race to Save Apollo 13” by responding to this prompt. Then use the revising tip to improve your TURN writing.

writing prompt revising tip

Short Constructed Response: Press Release Review your response. Imagine that you are working for NASA at the time How have you of the Apollo 13 crisis. Using information from the used coordinating selection, write a one- or two-paragraph press conjunctions to make Interactive Revision release in which you describe events in the first your writing flow more hour after the explosion. smoothly? Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-135.

the race to save apollo 13 135

VA_L10PE-u01s7-arRac.indd 135 3/28/11 9:11:06 AM Media from Apollo 13 Study Film Clip on Media Smart dvd-rom

What keeps you on the EDGE of your seat? Virginia Standards What type of movie do you prefer? Do you like the relentless tension of Learning created by nonstop action, or do you prefer the shock of a surprise 10.2b Evaluate sources including advertisements, editorials, blogs, ending? The scene you are about to view re-creates the tense web sites, and other media for moments that kept viewers glued to their television sets in 1970, relationships between intent, factual content, and opinion. 10.2d Identify waiting to see if the real Apollo 13 crew would return home safely. the tools and techniques used to achieve the intended focus. Background Unlucky 13 Some people believe that the number 13 is unlucky, but those at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) dismissed the superstitious belief. According to NASA, the flight of Apollo 13 would be a routine mission. After all, Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 had already landed on the moon. What could possibly go wrong? The mission was to begin at 1:13 .. on April 11. In military time, that time is written as 13:13. Apollo 13 was supposed to orbit the moon on April 13. Instead, an explosion weakened the ship’s oxygen supply and battery life. The crew and the world were about to weather a major crisis. The Apollo 13 movie, based on the book Lost Moon by astronaut Jim Lovell with writer Jeffrey Kluger, recounts the nerve-racking events of the actual mission. Director Ron Howard captures every detail of NASA’s race against time.

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VA_L10PE-u01-meApo.indd 136 3/28/11 10:51:18 AM Media Literacy: Creating Suspense on Film In telling a suspenseful story, both writers and filmmakers aim to seize an audience’s attention, making it anxious to learn the ultimate outcome. Writers ratchet up the tension primarily through the words that form the complications of the rising action or the vivid descriptions of characters’ struggles. Filmmakers deliver suspense through a careful combination of visual and sound techniques. How do directors keep viewers in suspense when the audience already What keeps you on the knows the real-life ending? The secret, according to film director Ron Howard, is “simply storytelling.” A director can use camera shots, editing, and music to tell EDGE of your seat? a well-known story and still raise the level of suspense. film techniues strategies for viewing

Camera shots can build • Consider the effect of a close-up shot versus a long suspense by tracking the shot. The first conveys characters’ emotions or emotions of characters as thoughts, while the second shows characters in they face certain struggles. relation to their surroundings. Ask yourself: How do close-up shots help viewers sympathize with characters? • Watch for point-of-view shots, which show what a character sees. These shots give viewers an opportunity to experience what is happening from a character’s point of view.

Suspenseful scenes can be • Notice how parallel editing, which is an editing edited in a number of ways. technique that cuts from one shot to another, shows Directors manipulate time, simultaneous action—often in different locations. which can affect the flow Ask yourself: How do sudden shifts to different of a scene. settings heighten the suspense? • Be aware that suspenseful scenes often rely on a high-stakes deadline or a race against time. Directors manipulate time to create suspense or increase viewers’ anticipation. They can shorten time, turning minutes to seconds, or they can extend it, stretching a moment to a nail-biting extreme.

Music can be a key element • Consider how music signals major events. You can in a suspenseful scene. often predict when something good or bad is about It can signal dramatic to happen through musical cues. events, tense moments, or • Notice how your emotions change when music is triumphant resolutions. used. Ask yourself: What effect does the music have on me?

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VA_L10PE-u01-meApo.indd 137 3/30/11 3:55:44 PM Viewing Guide for Media Smart dvd-rom • Film Clip: Apollo 13 Apollo 13 • Director: Ron Howard • Rating: PG As you watch this scene, keep in mind that it occurs near the climax • Genre: Drama • Running Time: 7.5 minutes of Apollo 13. The astronauts are in the Odyssey command module. This is the only part of the spacecraft that has any chance to reenter Earth’s atmosphere. At Mission Control, NASA workers stand by. Family members and others watch and wait. Plan on viewing the scene several times. To help you analyze suspense, refer to the questions that follow.

NOW VIEW

FIRST VIEWING: Comprehension

1. Recall When does NASA expect to regain communication with Lovell, Haise, and Swigert?

2. Clarify Where does NASA expect the Odyssey command module will land?

CLOSE VIEWING: Media Literacy

3. Make Inferences What emotions are revealed through the close-up shots of family and friends? What effect do you think these shots have on viewers?

4. Analyze Parallel Editing The director uses parallel editing to show how people are waiting at different locations for the reentry of the command module. Describe two of the locations and explain why you think the director chose them.

5. Analyze Sound What kinds of sounds contribute to the realism of the event?

6. Interpret Techniques How would you describe the music soon after the command module goes into blackout?

7. Evaluate Suspense The director of Apollo 13 uses several techniques to build suspense, including close-up shots, long shots, music, absence of sound, voice-over, and a high-stakes deadline. Which techniques kept you on the edge of your seat? Explain.

VA_L10PE-u01-meApo.indd 138 3/28/11 10:50:21 AM Media Study

Virginia Standards Write or Discuss of Learning Analyze Accounts in Print and Film When making a film based on a real-life 10.2a Use media, visual literacy, and technology skills to create drama, most directors feel an obligation to be true to the original story. In the products. 10.5f Draw conclusions nonfiction account, “The Race to Save Apollo 13,” the writer uses specific details and make inferences on explicit and implied information using textual to build suspense at critical moments. Does the filmmaker use the same details support as evidence. to create suspense in the film excerpt? Determine which details are emphasized in each account. To prepare, think about how the writer and the filmmaker used the techniques in each medium to incorporate • facts • references to time • questions about outcome In making the film, would you have emphasized different details? Why or why not?

Produce Your Own Media Media Create a Storyboard A storyboard is a device that is used to plan the shooting Tools of a film. It consists of a sequence of sketches showing what will appear in the Go to thinkcentral.com. film’s shots. Storyboards help directors create a vision of the finished product. KEYWORD: HML10-139 Using the student model as a guide, create a storyboard that depicts an event that is driven by a high-stakes deadline. HERE’S HOW Think of your storyboard as a rough sketch of a scene. Here are some tips to get you started:

• Be sure to include between eight and ten shots. Tech Tip • Use close-up shots to show characters’ emotions and to create tension. If a video camera is available, • Vary shots to show different images or different actions taking place. film the scene. • Show how time is a critical factor. student model

Shot 1 Shot 2 Shot 3 Shot 4 The fans cheer for Player focuses Time is running out. Opponent is ready their team. on hoop. to block shot.

Shot 5 Shot 6 Shot 7 Shot 8 The coach The fans wait for The fans aren’t Will he make can’t watch. a miracle. hopeful. the shot?

media study 139

VA_L10PE-u01-meApo.indd 139 3/28/11 10:50:01 AM Before Reading Exile Poem by Julia Alvarez Crossing the Border Poem by Joy Harjo

What makes you feel like an OUTSIDER?

Virginia Standards Have you ever felt separate from others, like you did not belong? of Learning A sense of alienation can come from having a different ethnic 10.3g Use knowledge of the evolution, diversity, and effects background, being dressed differently, having different values, of language to comprehend or other causes. Almost everyone has had such feelings at one time and elaborate the meaning of texts. 10.4 The student will read, or another. comprehend, and analyze literary texts of different cultures and QUICKWRITE Write a brief journal entry about a time eras. 10.4m Use reading strategies I felt alienated when . . . to monitor comprehension when you felt alienated. Where were you, and what throughout the reading process. ______. made you feel different from others? Did the others intend to make you uncomfortable? What thoughts ran through your mind, and what did you end up doing? Exploring your own experience may help you understand the speakers in the two following poems.

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VA_L10PE-u01s8-brExi.indd 140 3/28/11 10:31:37 AM Meet the Authors text analysis: narrative poetry A narrative poem is a poem that tells a story. Like a short story, Julia Alvarez it contains characters, setting, and a plot driven by conflict. born 1950 However, the narrative in a poem is much more condensed. American-Born Immigrant The speaker begins to relate events immediately, without Julia Alvarez was born in New York City. introducing himself or herself as a short story’s narrator might. Shortly after her birth her family returned The story is developed through compact images instead of to their homeland, the Dominican Republic. At that time, it was ruled by Rafael Trujillo, a lengthy description or passages of dialogue. Time may shift cruel dictator. The family was forced to flee abruptly, without clear transitions. in 1960 after Julia’s father’s participation in As you read “Exile” and “Crossing the Border,” prepare to a failed plot to overthrow summarize the stories told in the poems. Ask these questions: Trujillo. They returned to New York, where Alvarez • Who are the characters? had to adjust to a new • What are the settings? language and way of life. “A lot of what I have • What conflicts do the characters face? worked through,” she • How are the conflicts resolved? says, “has had to do with coming to this country and losing a homeland reading strategy: reading poetry and a culture.” The following strategies can help you unlock the meaning of the two poems in this lesson and other poetry you’ll read. • You must read a poem slowly, line by line. Notice how the Joy Harjo poem is structured. Lines are grouped in stanzas, comparable born 1951 to paragraphs in prose. Visualize the images in each stanza. Word Artist • It is especially important to interpret figurative language in Joy Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her poetry. Often, words in poems communicate ideas beyond mother was part Cherokee, and her father their literal meaning. The speaker in “Exile,” for example, was a full-blooded Muskogee, or Creek. Growing up, Harjo expected to become a refers to herself as swimming but is not physically doing visual artist but later decided to devote so. The key to understanding the poem is seeing what she herself to poetry. Harjo often compares to swimming. writes about the clash • Reading a poem aloud to yourself, to a partner, or in a small between Native American culture and the culture group will help you identify the speaker of a poem. As you of mainstream read or listen to the poem, make inferences about gender, America. She has age, ethnicity, and attitudes. Using a graphic like the one noted that native shown, take notes about the speaker in each poem. women “constantly bump up against adult woman recalling images of Indians a childhood experience that have nothing or nearly nothing to do Speaker with our lives.” in “Exile”

Authors Online Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-141 Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

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VA_L10PE-u01s8-brExi.indd 141 3/28/11 10:31:17 AM Exi l e julia alvarez

Ciudad Trujillo,1 New York City, 1960

The night we fled the country, Papi, How do you interpret you told me we were going to the beach, this surrealistic painting, hurried me to get dressed along with the others, titled Utopie [Utopia]? while posted at a window, you looked out What connections can you make between it and the poem “Exile”? 5 at a curfew-darkened Ciudad Trujillo, speaking in worried whispers to your brothers, which car to take, who’d be willing to drive it, what explanation to give should we be discovered . . .

On the way to the beach, you added, eyeing me. 10 The uncles fell in, chuckling phony chuckles, What a good time she’ll have learning to swim! Back in my sisters’ room Mami was packing

a hurried bag, allowing one toy apiece, her red eyes belying her explanation: 15 a week at the beach so Papi can get some rest. She dressed us in our best dresses, party shoes. a a narrative poetry Notice the place and time Something was off, I knew, but I was young of events. Who are the and didn’t think adult things could go wrong. people mentioned and what conflicts do they So as we quietly filed out of the house face? 20 we wouldn’t see again for another decade,

I let myself lie back in the deep waters, my arms out like Jesus’ on His cross, b Reading poetry The speaker is not literally and instead of sinking down as I’d always done, floating in water. What is magically, that night, I could stay up, b she actually doing?

1. Ciudad Trujillo: the name of the capital of the Dominican Republic from 1936–1961, which the dictator Trujillo renamed after himself.

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VA_L10PE-u01s8-sExil.indd 142 3/28/11 11:33:48 AM Utopie (1999), Bob Lescaux. Oil on canvas, 81 cm × 65 cm. Private Collection. Photo © The Bridgeman Art Library.

25 floating out, past the driveway, past the gates, in the black Ford, Papi grim at the wheel, winding through back roads, stroke by difficult stroke, out on the highway, heading toward the coast.

Past the checkpoint, we raced towards the airport, 30 my sisters crying when we turned before the family beach house, Mami consoling, there was a better surprise in store for us!

She couldn’t tell, though, until . . . until we were there. But I had already swum ahead and guessed c NARRATIVE POETRY 35 some loss much larger than I understood, What new conflict does more danger than the deep end of the pool. c the speaker recognize?

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VA_L10PE-u01s8-sExil.indd 143 3/28/11 11:33:36 AM At the dark, deserted airport we waited. All night in a fitful sleep, I swam. At dawn the plane arrived, and as we boarded, 40 Papi, you turned, your eyes scanned the horizon

as if you were trying to sight a distant swimmer, your hand frantically waving her back in, for you knew as we stepped inside the cabin that a part of both of us had been set adrift. d d READING POETRY In what sense have the speaker and her father 45 Weeks later, wandering our new city, hand in hand, you tried to explain the wonders: escalators been “set adrift”? as moving belts; elevators: pulleys and ropes; blond hair and blue eyes: a genetic code.

We stopped before a summery display window 50 at Macy’s, The World’s Largest Department Store, to admire a family outfitted for the beach: the handsome father, slim and sure of himself,

so unlike you, Papi, with your thick mustache, your three-piece suit, your fedora hat, your accent. 55 And by his side a girl who looked like Heidi in my storybook waded in colored plastic. e e NARRATIVE POETRY Notice that the setting We stood awhile, marveling at America, has changed. What new both of us trying hard to feel luckier conflict does it present? than we felt, both of us pointing out 60 the beach pails, the shovels, the sandcastles

no wave would ever topple, the red and blue boats. And when we backed away, we saw our reflections superimposed, big-eyed, dressed too formally with all due respect as visitors to this country.

65 Or like, Papi, two swimmers looking down at the quiet surface of our island waters, f READING POETRY What ideas does this seeing their faces right before plunging in, comparison to swimmers eager, afraid, not yet sure of the outcome. f bring to mind?

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VA_L10PE-u01s8-sExil.indd 144 3/28/11 11:33:15 AM crossing the border Joy Harjo

We looked the part. g g ReaDING poetry It was past midnight, well into Read the first stanza the weekend. Coming out of Detroit aloud. What do you learn into the Canada side, border guards about the speaker in the poem? 5 and checks. We are asked, “Who are you Indians and which side are you from?” Barney answers in a broken English. He talks this way to white people not to us. “Our kids.” 10 My children are wrapped and sleeping in the backseat. He points with his lips to half-eyed Richard in the front. “That one, too.” 15 But Richard looks like he belongs to no one, just sits there wild-haired like a Menominee would. “And my wife. . . .” Not true. But hidden under the windshield 20 at the edge of this country we feel immediately suspicious. These questions and we don’t look like we belong to either side.

“Any liquor or firearms?” 25 He should have asked that years ago and we can’t help but laugh. Kids stir around in the backseat but it is the border guard who is anxious. h NARRATIVE poetry What is the conflict He is looking for crimes, stray horses between the border guard 30 for which he has no apparent evidence. h and the Indians?

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VA_L10PE-u01s8-sExil.indd 145 3/28/11 11:33:06 AM “Where are you going?” Indians in an Indian car, trying to find a Delaware powwow that was barely mentioned in Milwaukee. 10.3g 35 Northern singing in the northern sky. Moon in a colder air. Language Coach Not sure of the place but knowing the name Etymologies Reread line we ask, “Moravian Town?” 34. Milwaukee is a city in Southeast Wisconsin. Its name means “good The border guard thinks he might have land” in the native 40 the evidence. It pleases him. Algonquian language. Past midnight. Look in a dictionary for Stars out clear into Canada word origins of other place names used in this and he knows only to ask, poem: Detroit, Canada, “Is it a bar?” Delaware, America.

45 Crossing the border into Canada, we are silent. Lights and businesses i READING POETRY What aspects of America we drive toward could be America, too, might follow the Indians following us into the north. i into the north?

Sport Utility Vehicle in Moonlight. Todd Davidson. © Todd Davidson/Getty Images.

146 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01s8-sExil.indd 146 3/28/11 11:32:55 AM After Reading

Virginia Standards Comprehension of Learning 1. Recall In “Exile,” where do the adults tell the speaker that the family is 10.4 The student will read, going? comprehend, and analyze literary texts of different cultures and eras. 10.4i Compare and contrast 2. Clarify Where does the family actually go? literature from different cultures and eras. 10.4m Use reading 3. Recall In “Crossing the Border,” what border is the speaker trying to cross? strategies to monitor comprehension throughout the reading process. 4. Clarify Why do the speaker and the others in the car want to cross the border? 10.6 The student will develop a variety of writing to persuade, interpret, analyze, and evaluate with an emphasis on exposition and Text Analysis analysis. 5. Analyze Narrative Poetry Using the following chart, analyze the narrative elements present in “Exile” and “Crossing the Border.” Describe each element in the appropriate box.

Characters Setting

Conflicts Resolution (?)

6. Interpret Figurative Language Think about the experience Alvarez compares with swimming in “Exile.” How fitting is the comparison? 7. Make Inferences In “Crossing the Border,” how does the speaker feel after crossing into Canada? Explain how you know. 8. Compare Speakers Use the graphics you created as you read to describe the speaker in each poem. How do the speakers differ? How do they both express alienation? 9. Evaluate Poetry Which poem more effectively tells a story? Which poem is more successful at creating a mood? Support your answers with evidence.

reading-writing connection writing prompt revising tip

Extended Constructed Response: If you wrote your Story Passage response by hand, How does a narrative poem differ from a short make sure your writing story? Write three to five paragraphs of a short is legible. If you used story based on one of the poems. Then, in two or a computer, be sure three sentences, comment on what is lost in the to use an easy-to-read translation to prose. font.

What makes you feel like an OUTSIDER? How does alienation affect how people react to the world around them?

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VA_L10PE-u01s8-arExi.indd 147 4/7/11 12:16:08 PM Writing Literary Analysis Workshop To analyze a work of literature—or determine meanings that are not obvious at first informative text glance—you examine how the author uses language and literary elements to create meaning. In this workshop, you will learn how to write a literary analysis that looks closely at a short story and finds the meaning in it.

Complete the workshop activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

write with a purpose key traits

writing task 1. development of ideas Write a literary analysis of a short story you have read. Your • presents an engaging analysis should use quotations and details from the story to introduction develop your topic and help your audience find new meaning • develops a controlling idea that or significance in the work. offers an analysis of the short story’s meaning Idea Starters • supports main points of analysis • how conflict in “Harrison Bergeron” helps communicate the with relevant details and author’s message quotations from the text • how setting and mood in “Searching for Summer” affect the story’s • concludes with a summary of meaning main points and insights the essentials 2. organization of ideas Here are some common purposes, audiences, and formats for • organizes ideas in a logical way a literary analysis. • uses varied transitions to create cohesion and connect ideas purposes audiences formats 3. language facility and • to examine • classmates and • essay conventions complex ideas teacher • literary journal • establishes and maintains a and concepts • members of a article formal style and objective tone in literary texts reading club • oral presentation • includes precise language • to convey the • readers of • blog • uses reciprocal pronouns information a literary correctly • podcast clearly to magazine or • employs correct grammar, others Web site mechanics, and spelling

Online

Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10N-148

148 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01-WW.indd 148 3/28/11 9:44:53 AM Writing Workshop

10.6a–b The student will develop a variety of writing to persuade, interpret, analyze, and evaluate with an emphasis on exposition Planning/Prewriting and analysis.

Getting Started

choose a story for analysis ask yourself: Choose a short story to analyze for your essay. • Which story do I keep thinking about long after Reread short stories you have enjoyed, and think having read it? about what each story means. • What is the meaning or theme of this story?

think about audience and purpose ask yourself: As you begin to analyze the story you have • Who is my audience? selected, keep in mind that your purpose is to • Are they familiar with this short story? examine the author’s use of language and story • What ideas might my audience have about this story? elements that shape the story’s meaning. Your • What ideas and details do I have to share with my audience is likely to include people who have audience? read the story and have their own ideas about • What domain-specific, or specialized, vocabulary its meaning. will my audience need to know in order to understand my analysis?

select content details what does it look like? Read the story a second or third time. In a reading log, list stylistic elements such as word Story Details My Thoughts choice, imagery, and tone. Write your thoughts “so clean and wavy” It’s a bare dirt yard, but she about each item in the list. makes it sound wonderful. “She never takes a shot This is Dee’s own family, but without making sure she’s acting like a tourist. the house is included.” That’s insensitive.

write a thesis statement what does it look like? Review your reading log and identify the central Thesis Statement idea behind the details you have listed and your The author is saying that understanding and own thoughts about it. Write a working thesis remembering your heritage is important. Key Points statement, that explains this central idea. Then Key points covered in the body include the family select key points from the story that prove your home, Dee’s name, and quilts. stance.

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VA_L10PE-u01-WW.indd 149 4/7/11 12:19:08 PM Planning/Prewriting continued

Getting Started collect evidence Develop the controlling idea with well chosen, relevant (related) details as evidence that directly supports your points. Include a variety of each of the following: what does it look like?

Examples: specific instances from the story Key Point Evidence Elaboration Dee’s name summary: Dee In rejecting her Quotations: words, phrases, and sentences takes African given name, which copied word-for-word from the story name; quotation: she shares with Summaries: important information from the “You know as other family story summed up in your own words well as me you members, Dee was named after shows she doesn’t Elaborate on, or explain, how each piece of your aunt Dicie.” really understand evidence supports your controlling idea and stylistic device: the meaning of affects the reader. Dee (Wangero) heritage.

PEER REVIEW Read your controlling idea to a peer who has read the short story. Then ask: What is my controlling idea? What are my key points? If your partner cannot identify your main idea and key points, rewrite your controlling idea to clarify them.

YOUR In your Reader/Writer Notebook, develop your writing plan. Record a working version of your controlling idea. Then use a chart like the TURN one on this page to organize your key points and evidence and make connections. Consider the following tips as you gather evidence: • Collect a variety of relevant evidence, including concrete details, quotations, and summaries of story information, to develop your controlling idea. • Double-check any quotations you plan to use to support your controlling idea. Record the exact words from the text and enclose them in quotation marks. • Only cite stylistic elements that support your key points and help convey the meaning and message of your essay. • If you have trouble finding supporting evidence for a key point, consider revising your controlling idea.

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10.6d Write clear and varied sentences, clarifying ideas with precise and relevant evidence. 10.7c Use a style manual, such as that of the Modern Language Association (MLA) or the American Psychological Association (APA), to apply rules for punctuation and formatting of Drafting direct quotations. The following chart shows how to organize your draft to create a coherent literary analysis.

Organizing a Literary Analysis

introduction • Engage your audience by relating to their experiences. Identify the story’s title and author. • Include a clear controlling idea that presents your main idea, and note your key points.

body • Discuss one key point or stylistic element per paragraph, and cite evidence to back up your analysis. • Maintain a formal style by using precise language, avoiding contractions and slang, and adopting an objective—neutral—tone. • Use varied transitions, such as at first, also, and another example, to connect related ideas.

concluding section • Summarize your key points and their significance to your topic. • End with a question or statement for your audience to think about.

grammar in context: uotations Quotations from the short story can be used as evidence in your essay. Use quotation marks to enclose a direct quotation.

Type of Structure Example

A directly quoted sentence begins with a The irony is obvious in Dee’s statement capital letter. If the quotation is only a fragment of that “She’d probably be backward a sentence, it may begin with a lowercase letter. enough to put them to everyday use!”

Use a colon after an independent clause (complete The author reveals characters’ emotions sentence) that introduces a quotation. through key descriptions : “Dee (Wangero) looked at me with hatred.”

A direct quotation that includes character dialogue “‘The quilts are priceless!’ she requires both single quotes and quotation marks. exclaimed.” The character’s words go inside the single quotes.

A direct quotation can be set off from the rest of “You know as well as me you was the sentence by a comma, a question mark, or an named after your aunt Dicie,” Dee’s exclamation point, but not by a period. mother replies.

YOUR Develop a first draft. As you write, make sure to use correct punctuation and capitalization for any quotations you include in your analysis. TURN

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VA_L10PE-u01-WW.indd 151 3/28/11 9:44:16 AM Revising When you revise, consider the content, organization, and style of your essay. The questions, tips, and strategies in the chart can help you improve your draft.

literary analysis Ask Yourself Tips Revision Strategies

1. Does the introduction grab the Put a star by sentences that get Add an interesting opening audience’s interest? Does it the audience interested. Put a sentence. Add the name of the include the name of the author check mark by the name of the author and the title of the story. and the title of the story? author and the title of the story.

2. Does the introduction present Bracket the controlling idea. If your controlling idea seems a clear and engaging controlling Label each key point to be boring or obvious, rewrite it idea? Does the introduction discussed in the body of the to make it more engaging. summarize key points? essay with P1, P2, and so on. Summarize key points in the introduction.

3. Does the body include a Label each paragraph with the Add a paragraph for each key paragraph for each key point? key point it discusses. Then point. Rearrange the key points Is the order of key points number your key points in order by putting the most important effective? of importance. point last.

4. Is each key point supported Circle each piece of evidence Add evidence to support your by evidence, such as concrete for a key point. Draw an arrow key points. Rearrange evidence examples and relevant from each item to the point it so that it is in the paragraph quotations? supports. containing the point it supports.

5. Do I maintain a formal style and Bracket contractions, casual Reword text to avoid objective tone throughout? language, or vague word contractions. Replace instances choices. of informal language with precise, formal words.

6. Does the concluding section Underline the summary of Add a summary of your key summarize key points and reflect key points and their meaning. points and their meaning. Add on their overall meaning? Does it Highlight the question or a question or statement for your include a question or statement statement for your audience audience to ponder. for the audience to think about? to think about.

YOUR PEER REVIEW Exchange your literary analysis with a classmate, or read your essay aloud to your partner. As you read and discuss the essays, focus on the controlling TURN idea, evidence, and organization. Make sure to discuss the effect of the author’s use of stylistic elements. If necessary, provide concrete suggestions for improvement.

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10.6f Revise writing for clarity of content, accuracy, and depth of information. 10.7e Analyze the writing of others. 10.7f Describe how the analyze a student draft author accomplishes the intended purpose of a piece of writing. Read this draft; note the comments on its strengths as well as the suggestions for improvement.

Heritage and “Everyday Use” by Lydia Rodriguez, Eisenhower College Prep

1 At first, Alice Walker’s story “Everyday Use” seems to be about minor In her introduction conflicts. However, Walker uses mother-daughter conflicts to describe her Lydia focuses on the controlling idea of her beliefs about how people should honor their heritage. The conflicts Alice essay and the key points Walker discusses—over a family’s home, a daughter’s name, and some that will support her heirloom quilts—make the reader think about the larger question of heritage. analysis. 2 The conflict over the family’s home is clear from the beginning of the story. The mother loves the family home. When the family’s previous home Lydia covers a key point in each body paragraph. burned down years before, her daughter Dee showed no emotion. Now She provides concrete when Dee comes to visit, she poses her mother and sister in front of their examples as supporting house and snaps pictures like a tourist. The mother sees the family home as evidence for this key part of her heritage. But Dee sees it only as the backdrop for a photo. point. 3 Dee and her mother also disagree about names. Dee tells her family that she has given herself an African name, Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Lydia summarizes the story and offers She tells her mother that “Dee” is “dead,” saying, “I couldn’t bear it any quotations as evidence longer, being named after the people who oppress me.” Dee’s mother replies, of this conflict. To “You know as well as me you was named after your aunt Dicie.” But her strengthen her analysis, daughter rejects the name, preferring to forget all the Dees who came before she could discuss a stylistic element. her. The author highlights this conflict by referring to Dee by both names: Dee (Wangero).

LEARN HOW Explain the Effect of Stylistic Elements Lydia presents her key point about the conflict over Dee’s name but could make her analysis stronger by explaining how a stylistic element used by the author affects the reader.

lydia’s revision to paragraph 3 But her daughter rejects the name, preferring to forget all the Dees who came before her. The author highlights this conflict by referring to Dee by both names: Dee (Wangero). Through the stylistic element of putting the African name in parentheses, the author expresses the idea that the African name Dee gave herself is not as important as the name Dee’s mother gave her, the one that connects her to her family’s heritage.

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VA_L10PE-u01-WW.indd 153 3/28/11 9:43:58 AM analyze a student draft continued

4 The last and most important confrontation between Dee and her mother comes when Dee asks for two quilts. Dee wants to hang the quilts Lydia makes her most in her home. Her mother had offered her a quilt when she went away to important key point school, but Dee had rejected it as “old-fashioned, out of style.” Now, she in the final paragraph tells her mother they are “priceless!” When the mother tells Dee that she before the concluding section. She supports promised the quilts to the younger daughter as a wedding gift, Dee reacts it with a summary of furiously: “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts. She’d probably be backward information from the enough to put them to everyday use!” Dee can’t see that “everyday use” story and quotations. is exactly why the quilts were made. She is more interested in owning a quilt that was intricately hand sewn than in remembering and appreciating the people who sewed it. This has the effect of making Dee seem more interested in material things, rather than in a true appreciation of her heritage. Although Lydia makes 5 As Dee storms out of the house, she tells her mother, “You just a general statement don’t understand . . . your heritage.” The fact is, the mother and Maggie about the meaning of understand their heritage in ways Dee never will. the story, her concluding section is weak.

LEARN HOW Build an Effective Concluding Section To make her conclusion as strong and effective as it can be, Lydia needs to restate her overall impression of the short story and add an interesting question or statement for her audience to think about.

lydia’s revision to paragraph 5 The fact is, the mother and Maggie understand their heritage in ways Dee never will. To the mother, heritage lies in the work of her ancestors; in the humble house that shelters her; in the memories of Grandma Dee, Stash, and Dicie; and in the lovingly pieced quilts that will keep Maggie and her husband warm. The author uses a series of conflicts between the mother and Dee to show that a family’s heritage is not something “priceless” to be hung on a wall as a piece of art. Instead, it should be part of people’s daily lives _ for “everyday use.”

YOUR PEER REVIEW Use the feedback from your peers and teacher as well as the two “Learn How” lessons to revise your essay. Evaluate how well your TURN work fits the purpose of a literary analysis, communicates the meaning you intended, and addresses your audience.

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10.6g Use computer technology to plan, draft, revise, edit, and publish writing. 10.7 The student will self-and peer-edit writing for correct grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, sentence structure, and Editing and Publishing paragraphing. In the editing stage, proofread your essay to make sure that it is free of grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation errors. Such errors can distract your audience from your ideas about the meaning of the short story.

grammar in context: reciprocal pronouns Reciprocal pronouns are a type of indefinite pronoun that refers to something or someone that may or may not be specifically named. Writers use reciprocal pronouns (each other, one another) to convey a shared action or feeling among the members of a plural subject.

Dee and her mother also disagree about names. [In the sentence, “with each other” could be added after “disagree.” The reciprocal pronoun “each other” would show a shared feeling between the subjects of Dee and her mother.]

While editing her essay, Lydia noticed an opportunity to use a reciprocal pronoun.

Dee can’t see that “everyday use” is exactly why the quilts were made. This conflict with one another highlights the differences among Dee, her sister, and her mother. [The conflict is shared by Dee, her sister, and her mother.]

publish your writing Finally, you will share your literary analysis with an audience. Here are some options: • Submit your essay to the school literary magazine. • Publish your essay on a Web site for the fans of the author’s work. • Adapt your essay into an oral presentation and deliver it to an audience that has read the story.

YOUR Proofread your essay for errors. Make sure you have used reciprocal pronouns to note shared feelings or actions among the members of TURN plural subjects. Then, publish your final essay where your intended audience is likely to see it.

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VA_L10PE-u01-WW.indd 155 3/28/11 9:43:38 AM Scoring Rubric Use the rubric below to evaluate your literary analysis from the Writing Workshop or your response to the on-demand task on the next page.

literary analysis score key traits • Development Has an engaging introduction; includes a controlling idea with an insightful analysis of the short story; supports key points with relevant evidence; ends powerfully • Organization Arranges ideas in an effective, logical order; uses varied transitions to create cohesion and link ideas • Language Consistently maintains a formal style; uses precise language; shows a strong 4 command of conventions

• Development Has an introduction that could be more engaging; includes a controlling idea that states an analysis of the short story; could use some more evidence; has an adequate concluding section • Organization Arranges ideas logically; could vary transitions more • Language Mostly maintains a formal style; needs more precise language at times; 3 has a few distracting errors in conventions

• Development Has a weak introduction and a controlling idea that does not relate to the writing task; lacks specific evidence; has a weak concluding section • Organization Has organizational flaws; lacks transitions throughout • Language Uses an informal style and vague language; has many distracting errors 2 in conventions • Development Has no introduction or controlling idea; offers unrelated points as evidence; ends abruptly • Organization Includes a string of disconnected ideas with no overall organization • Language Uses an inappropriate style and vague, tired language; has major problems 1 with grammar, mechanics, and spelling

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10.6 The student will develop a variety of writing to persuade, interpret, analyze, and Preparing for Timed Writing evaluate with an emphasis on exposition and analysis. 1. analyze the task 5 min Read the task carefully. Then, read it again, noting the words that tell the type of writing, the topic, the purpose, and the audience. writing task Topic Type of Writing Choose a short story that has personal meaning for you. Write an analysis of the story Audience to share with a friend who has not read it. In your essay, briefly summarize the story, identify a stylistic element the author uses to create the meaning you have gathered from it, and explain how the author uses that element to convey the story’s meaning. Purpose

2. plan your response 10 min Consider these questions: What does the story mean to me? How does the author create that meaning? Respond Controlling Idea to these questions with a controlling idea that provides the author and title of the story and briefly describes your ideas Examples Details about the story’s meaning. Then, list examples and details from the story as evidence to support your analysis.

3. respond to the task 20 min Begin drafting your essay. Follow these tips: • Open your introduction by making a connection with your audience, for example, with a thought-provoking question. Add your controlling idea, then provide a brief summary (three to four sentences) of the story as it relates to your topic. • Explain each key idea in its own body paragraph. Cite examples and details from the story as evidence to support each idea. • Conclude with a summary of your key ideas and a statement or question about the broader meaning of the story as you understand it.

4. improve your response 5–10 min

Revising Check your draft against the writing task. Does your draft clearly state your controlling idea about the meaning of the story? Have you included enough supporting evidence from the story? Do you end with a conclusion of the analysis? Proofreading Find and correct errors in grammar, mechanics, and spelling. Make sure your edits are neatly written and legible. Checking Your Final Copy Before you turn in your response, read it one more time to make sure that you have not missed any errors. Does your final essay represent your best work?

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VA_L10PE-u01-WW.indd 157 3/29/11 1:28:03 PM Speaking & Presenting a Response to a Short Story Listening You have probably shared a response to a work before, such as telling your friend Workshop how much you liked a new song or movie, and why. When you talk about the meaning of a work, you are presenting an analysis.

Complete the workshop activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook.

speak with a purpose key traits

task a strong oral presentation . . . Adapt your literary analysis into • presents the topic clearly and concisely an oral presentation that is • organizes information logically and coherently appropriate for your audience. • offers compelling ideas and includes evidence to Practice delivering your support them presentation concisely so it is easy to follow. • uses effective verbal and nonverbal speaking techniques and shows a command of standard grammar and usage

Virginia Standards of Learning Adapting Your Essay 10.1a Assume responsibility Because your audience will be listening to your literary analysis instead of for specific group tasks. 10.1b Collaborate in the reading it, you will need to adapt your essay to make it clear and easy to follow preparation or summary of the and use effective speaking techniques. Consider creating an outline of your main group activity. 10.1c Include all group members in oral ideas and supporting details. In addition, follow these suggestions: presentation. 10.1e Demonstrate the ability to work effectively with • Audience To help your audience follow your analysis, include a brief summary diverse teams to accomplish a common goal. 10.1f Collaborate of the story to refresh their memories or to provide context for your ideas. with others to exchange ideas, Adapt the introduction of your essay to make it dramatic, but be develop new understandings, make • Introduction decisions, and solve problems. sure to clearly and concisely state your controlling idea, or thesis. 10.1j Analyze and interpret other’s presentations. 10.2a Use media, • Organization Build interest and momentum. Present your ideas in a logical visual literacy, and technology skills order, with strong supporting evidence from the story, so that listeners can to create products. follow your reasoning. • Conclusion Sum up your key ideas and restate your analysis. End with a question or comment that gives your audience something to consider. • Scripting Create a script. Neatly write a cue for your attention-getting introduction and controlling idea. Number key points and supporting evidence. Copy quotations just as they appear in the story. Underline words as a cue to emphasize them, and use long dashes to indicate dramatic pauses.

Speaking & Dee tells her mother, “You just don’t understand . . . your heritage,” but it is Listening Online Dee who does not understand it. The mother knows that her heritage is all Go to thinkcentral.com. around her _ in her house, in her family memories, and in her beautiful quilts. KEYWORD: HML10-158

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VA_L10PE-u01-LSW.indd 158 3/28/11 10:53:14 AM Delivering Your Presentation The delivery of your literary analysis is as important as its content. Use both verbal and nonverbal techniques to clearly convey your information in a way that is appropriate for your audience and keeps everyone engaged.

Verbal Techniques pace volume enunciation style

Vary your rate of speaking. Use an appropriate Pronounce words Choose the style that is Speak faster when you volume for the room clearly and read right for your audience and introduce your topic. Speak in which you are quotations also for your topic. Use a more slowly as you discuss speaking. Project your carefully so that conversational tone when your findings so that voice so that everyone the audience speaking to classmates or listeners can follow your in your audience can understands the friends. Avoid slang and line of reasoning. hear you. substance of your colloquialisms in more analysis. formal settings or when discussing a serious topic.

Nonverbal Techniques posture facial expressions gestures eye contact

Stand up straight, but with Convey meaning with Use hand gestures Look directly at your a relaxed, comfortable a variety of facial to stress key audience. Make frequent stance. You will appear expressions, such as points, to invite eye contact with more authoritative, more smiles, frowns, and the audience to different individuals. engaging for audiences, and raised eyebrows. agree with your more confident. Turn to ideas, and to get face different parts of the or regain their room. Walk toward or step attention. back from the audience as your discussion requires.

YOUR As a Speaker Practice presenting your response to a friend, using appropriate verbal and nonverbal techniques described on this page. TURN Afterward, ask for feedback on your delivery. Evaluate your audience’s reaction and apply what you have learned to your actual presentation. As a Listener Evaluate your friend’s delivery of his or her presentation. Listen to make sure that the analysis is clear and effective and that evidence is organized in a way that makes ideas easy to follow. Provide feedback on the speaker’s use of verbal and nonverbal techniques, such as pace, volume, and body language. Let the speaker know if his or her speech conventions and delivery style are appropriate for the audience and purpose. Determine whether information and ideas are presented logically and concisely, or if they instead detract from, or even undermine, the speaker’s points. 159

VA_L10PE-u01-LSW.indd 159 3/28/11 10:52:57 AM virginia standards Assessment Practice of learning DIRECTIONS Read the two selections and the viewing and representing piece. Then, answer the questions that follow.

assess Embroidery by Ray Bradbury Taking this practice test will help you assess your knowledge of these skills 1 The dark porch air in the late afternoon was full of needle flashes, like a and determine your movement of gathered silver insects in the light. The three women’s mouths readiness for the Unit Test. twitched over their work. Their bodies lay back and then imperceptibly review forward, so that the rocking chairs tilted and murmured. Each woman looked After you take the practice to her own hands, as if quite suddenly she had found her heart beating there. test, your teacher can help 2 “What time is it?” you identify any standards 3 “Ten minutes to five.” you need to review. 4 “Got to get up in a minute and shell those peas for dinner.” 5 “But—” said one of them. 6 “Oh yes, I forgot. How foolish of me. . . .” The first woman paused, put Virginia Standards down her embroidery and needle, and looked through the open porch door, of Learning through the warm interior of the quiet house, to the silent kitchen. There 10.2b Evaluate sources including advertisements, editorials, blogs, upon the table, seeming more like symbols of domesticity than anything she Web sites, and other media for had ever seen in her life, lay the mound of fresh-washed peas in their neat, relationships between intent, factual content, and opinion. resilient jackets, waiting for her fingers to bring them into the world. 10.3b Use context, structure, 7 and connotations to determine “Go hull them if it’ll make you feel good,” said the second woman. meanings of words and 8 “No,” said the first. “I won’t. I just won’t.” phrases. 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze 9 The third woman sighed. She embroidered a rose, a leaf, a daisy on a green literary texts of different cultures field. The embroidery needle rose and vanished. and eras. 10.4b Make predictions, draw inferences, and connect prior 10 The second woman was working on the finest, most delicate piece of knowledge to support reading embroidery of them all, deftly poking, finding, and returning the quick needle comprehension. 10.4h Evaluate how an author’s specific word choices, upon innumerable journeys. Her quick black glance was on each motion. syntax, tone, and voice shape the A flower, a man, a road, a sun, a house; the scene grew under her hand, a intended meaning of the text, achieve specific effects, and support miniature beauty, perfect in every threaded detail. the author’s purpose. 10.5 The 11 student will read, interpret, “It seems at times like this that it’s always your hands you turn to,” she said, analyze, and evaluate nonfiction and the others nodded enough to make the rockers rock again. texts. 10.5f Draw conclusions and make inferences on explicit and 12 “I believe,” said the first lady, “that our souls are in our hands. For we do implied information using textual everything to the world with our hands. Sometimes I think we don’t use our support as evidence. 10.6f Revise writing for clarity of content, hands half enough; it’s certain we don’t use our heads.” accuracy, and depth of information. 13 They all peered more intently at what their hands were doing. “Yes,” said the third lady, “when you look back on a whole lifetime, it seems you don’t remember faces so much as hands and what they did.” 14 They recounted to themselves the lids they had lifted, the doors they had Practice opened and shut, the flowers they had picked, the dinners they had made, Test Take it at thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10N-160

160 unit 1: plot, setting, and mood

VA_L10PE-u01-tap.indd 160 3/28/11 10:21:01 AM all with slow or quick fingers, as was their manner or custom. Looking back, you saw a flurry of hands, like a magician’s dream, doors popping wide, taps turned, brooms wielded, children spanked. The flutter of pink hands was the only sound; the rest was a dream without voices. 15 “No supper to fix tonight or tomorrow night or the next night after that,” said the third lady. 16 “No windows to open or shut.” 17 “No coal to shovel in the basement furnace next winter.” 18 “No papers to clip cooking articles out of.” 19 And suddenly they were crying. The tears rolled softly down their faces and fell into the material upon which their fingers twitched. 20 “This won’t help things,” said the first lady at last, putting the back of her thumb to each under-eyelid. She looked at her thumb and it was wet. 21 “Now look what I’ve done!” cried the second lady, exasperated. The others stopped and peered over. The second lady held out her embroidery. There was the scene, perfect except that while the embroidered yellow sun shone down upon the embroidered green field, and the embroidered brown road curved toward an embroidered pink house, the man standing on the road had something wrong with his face. 22 “I’ll just have to rip out the whole pattern, practically, to fix it right,” said the second lady. 23 “What a shame.” They all stared intently at the beautiful scene with the flaw in it. 24 The second lady began to pick away at the thread with her little deft scissors flashing. The pattern came out thread by thread. She pulled and yanked, almost viciously. The man’s face was gone. She continued to seize at the threads. 25 “What are you doing?” asked the other woman. 26 They leaned and saw what she had done. 27 The man was gone from the road. She had taken him out entirely. 28 They said nothing but returned to their own tasks. 29 “What time is it?” asked someone. 30 “Five minutes to five!” 31 “Is it supposed to happen at five o’clock?” 32 “Yes.” 33 “And they’re not sure what it’ll do to anything, really, when it happens?” 34 “No, not sure.” 35 “Why didn’t we stop them before it got this far and this big?” go on

assessment practice 161

STOP VA_L10PE-u01-tap.indd 161 3/28/11 10:20:45 AM 36 “It’s twice as big as ever before. No, ten times, maybe a thousand.” 37 “This isn’t like the first one or the dozen later ones. This is different. Nobody knows what it might do when it comes.” 38 They waited on the porch in the smell of roses and cut grass. “What time is it now?” 39 “One minute to five.” 40 The needles flashed silver fire. They swam like a tiny school of metal fish in the darkening summer air. 41 Far away a mosquito sound. Then something like a tremor of drums. The three women cocked their heads, listening. 42 “We won’t hear anything, will we?” 43 “They say not.” 44 “Perhaps we’re foolish. Perhaps we’ll go right on, after five o’clock, shelling peas, opening doors, stirring soups, washing dishes, making lunches, peeling oranges . . . “ 45 “My, how we’ll laugh to think we were frightened by an old experiment!” They smiled a moment at each other. 46 “It’s five o’clock.” 47 At these words, hushed, they all busied themselves. Their fingers darted. Their faces were turned down to the motions they made. They made frantic patterns. They made lilacs and grass and trees and houses and rivers in the embroidered cloth. They said nothing, but you could hear their breath in the silent porch air. 48 Thirty seconds passed. 49 The second woman sighed finally and began to relax. 50 “I think I just will go shell those peas for supper,” she said. “I—” 51 But she hadn’t time even to lift her head. Somewhere, at the side of her vision, she saw the world brighten and catch fire. She kept her head down, for she knew what it was. She didn’t look up, nor did the others, and in the last instant their fingers were flying; they didn’t glance about to see what was happening to the country, the town, this house, or even this porch. They were only staring down at the design in their flickering hands. 52 The second woman watched an embroidered flower go. She tried to embroider it back in, but it went, and then the road vanished, and the blades of grass. She watched a fire, in slow motion almost, catch upon the embroidered house and unshingle it, and pull each threaded leaf from the small green tree in the hoop, and she saw the sun itself pulled apart in the design. Then the fire caught upon the moving point of the needle while still it flashed; she watched the fire come along her fingers and arms and body, untwisting the yarn of her being so painstakingly that she could see it in all its

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VA_L10PE-u01-tap.indd 162 3/28/11 10:20:34 AM Assessment Practice

devilish beauty, yanking out the pattern from the material at hand. What it was doing to the other women or the furniture or the elm tree in the yard, she never knew. For now, yes now! it was plucking at the white embroidery of her flesh, the pink thread of her cheeks, and at last it found her heart, a soft red rose sewn with fire, and it burned the fresh, embroidered petals away, one by delicate one. . . .

Staying in Galveston, a Park Bench for Shelter by Ian Urbina and John Schwartz from The New York Times

1 GALVESTON, Tex. –Those who make the barrier island here their home know this: Nature tries to wipe them out now and then. They live with that knowledge every day, though it does not come to the forefront of their thinking unless a storm is on the way. 2 The threat is anything but theoretical, as Daryl Thompson learned Saturday after making what he admitted was a bad decision. 3 Not only did he choose to ride out Hurricane Ike, but he did so outdoors. “I thought about going to the shelter,” Mr. Thompson, who is homeless, said as he pushed his bike with two large water-logged bags balanced on top. “But I waited too long, then I was trapped.” 4 Mr. Thompson said that at one point the wind was so strong that he kept getting blown off his feet. So he lay down underneath a park bench. 5 “I thought I might die,” he said. “This thing tossed me like a salad.” 6 The storm tossed much of the island the same way. 7 Along the seaway, wooden debris was stacked up like barricades, and things were askew in that way that only big storms can accomplish.

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VA_L10PE-u01-tap.indd 163 3/28/11 10:20:24 AM STOP 8 Dozens of palm trees were bent over. A boat sat in the middle of a road near 49th Street, even though no water flowed down the street. At the cemetery, statues of saints and the heads of white tombstones barely extended above muddy water. 9 Coast Guard helicopters buzzed overhead in an effort to check on rescue missions in response to more than 100 distress calls that came in during the night. 10 Late Saturday, city officials said there were no confirmed deaths, even though at least 17 buildings were destroyed. Property damage was “in the millions, if not hundreds of millions,” said the city manager, Steve LeBlanc. 11 For residents of Galveston, which lost 6,000 people in 1900 in the nation’s worst natural disaster, there is a grim calculation with each storm: Stay or go? 12 John Dundee, whose family has lived on the island for five generations, decided to stick out this storm after the misery of the 2005 evacuation for Hurricane Rita. 13 “My wife and I sat up in traffic for 27 hours, just trying to make it to my children’s house in Waco,” Mr. Dundee said. This time, they decided, “we felt we might be safer here than out on the highway,” and they left their home on the unprotected west end of the island for his mother’s home closer to town. 14 But then the surge predictions grew more and more ominous. 15 “We went back and forth and back and forth,” Mr. Dundee said. By the time they decided to go, the water on the streets was waist deep—too much even for his Jeep. 16 Speaking from his home Saturday morning, a clearly relieved Mr. Dundee said, “We got beat up pretty bad, but everybody got through fine.” 17 On Friday night, just hours before Hurricane Ike came ashore, Galveston’s mayor, Lyda Ann Thomas, spoke by cellphone from the San Luis Hotel about why people stay in such a place, and why people go there. 18 Galveston has been on a building binge, with more than $6 billion in recent development—even after Hurricane Katrina underscored the risks of the Gulf Coast. The city’s economy is on an upswing. And, as Ms. Thomas likes to say, “It only took 100 years.” 19 Ms. Thomas’s grandfather was I. H. Kempner, one of the men who helped revive the city after the storm in 1900. She said the risk was “just part of living here.” 20 “The gulf sits here,” Ms. Thomas said, “and at any moment—like today—it can rise up in wrath and overwhelm you.” 21 “We’ve lost a lot today,” she added. “But you know that’s a part of our history.”

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22 Other residents, too, said they would ride the storm out again if given the option. 23 Ivy and Mike Gonzalez said they and their home had made it as they wandered out from the house, on Broadway. They added that it would have been much easier had the city not turned off the water and gas. 24 “We understand that they needed to take precautions, but I need a cup of coffee something vicious and the toilet needs flushing,” said Ms. Gonzalez, adding that a couple of shingles had blown off their home but there was no other damage. . . . 25 Along Broadway and 29th, two teenagers kayaked on their way to check on a friend’s house. Another boy walked up 21st Street with a fishing pole. “I’m not trying to catch anything,” said the boy, Nick Parker, 11. “I’m just making sure there are no water moccasins.” 26 Nick explained that he and his parents had waited too long to evacuate and had been trapped in their home. The water flooded their basement, he said, but no one was hurt. “Mostly, I’m here looking for someone else to play with,” he said. “Hurricanes are boring. Maybe it’s time to open the schools back up.” 27 At Ball High School, which served as an evacuation shelter and where nearly 300 people rode out the storm, Michael W. Fox, who was staying at the shelter, said that all had gone smoothly, even though around midnight the first-floor auditorium was evacuated to the second floor as water flooded the building. 28 “It was civil and all, but by morning all anyone wanted to do was get out and check on their homes to see how bad things looked,” Mr. Fox said as he waded through waist-deep water back to his home. 29 As she began pulling down the plywood from the front of her house on Avenue O, less than a half-mile from the water, Sara Rampton, 54, said her house was fine. 30 But tears began streaming down her face as she tried to explain what she did lose. 31 “My dog ran, and I lost my only photograph of my grandfather,” said Ms. Rampton, explaining that as she tried to take her German shepherd, Gabriel, to a shelter when the storm started, he got spooked by the winds and bolted out the front door. She added that during the storm, water flooded part of her living room and the wind blew down her only photograph of her deceased grandfather.

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VA_L10PE-u01-tap.indd 165 3/28/11 10:20:03 AM STOP 32 “You can replace everything else, and I’m sure they will rebuild,” she said, wiping her face. “They can’t rebuild all the personal things that get lost.” 33 In 1900, the Great Storm, as it became known in the days before each hurricane was given a human name, changed one of the nation’s most prosperous cities into a backwater. 34 That storm stopped what seemed to be an inexorable rise for Galveston, which considered itself a rival to New Orleans. It was the city with an opera house that had hosted Sarah Bernhardt, the city with the state’s first telephone and its first electric light. And then, the storm. 35 “When I was growing up, people didn’t like to talk about it,” said Paul Burka, the senior executive editor of Texas Monthly magazine and a “B.O.I.”—clubby old Galveston’s abbreviation for “born on the island.” The 1900 storm “was like a skeleton in the family closet,” he said, because “that was the day that Galveston lost its destiny.” 36 But the city did not stand still. Civic leaders like Kempner and John Sealy traveled to New York and Washington to persuade government and financial leaders that the island would soon be open for business again and to establish lines of credit. 37 Enormous undertakings followed. Galveston began building a seawall that is now 10 miles long and some 17 feet high, to break storm surges from the Gulf of Mexico. Workers raised the city’s buildings on jacks—some by more than 10 feet—and filled in the space underneath with dredged soil. 38 The city survived, but it did not boom again. Its economic prominence was quickly grabbed by Houston, which dug a deepwater ship channel that allowed business to bypass the risky island port. 39 But life went on, and Galvestonians came to think of the threat of occasional hurricanes as something they could live with.

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Use “Embroidery” (pp. 160–163) to answer 5. In paragraphs 11–14, hands symbolize — questions 1–9. A. just another part of the body B. something that is pampered and 1. The mood of the women in this story is — manicured A. cheerful and hopeful C. aches and pains B. tense and fearful D. the everyday activities of life C. sick and angry D. peaceful and loving 6. In paragraph 19, twitched means — A. jerked C. sewed 2. One of the themes of this story is — B. lay still D. stroked A. embroidery is a relaxing hobby B. gossiping is not kind 7. The word exasperated in paragraph 21 comes from the Latin root asperare, meaning “to C. spending time with friends and family is make rough.” Exasperated means — enjoyable A. scrubbed clean D. ignoring trouble does not stop it B. helped 3. At the beginning of the story, the three C. breathed deeply women are expecting — D. irritated A. a day like any other day B. a dinner party later that night 8. In paragraphs 24–27, the second woman rips the embroidered man completely out of her C. something unknown to happen at five embroidery because — o’clock A. she did not want the other women to be D. an important visitor jealous of her fine stitching 4. Read the following dictionary entry. B. she was angry and afraid C. she knew she could do better domestic\dE mDsPtGk\ adj. 1. of or relating to the family or household 2. fond of homelife D. she was not paying attention and tore too and household affairs 3. tame (as in animals) much of the man out 4. of or relating to a country’s internal affairs 9. In paragraph 35, when one of the women says (as in taxes or highways). “Why didn’t we stop them before it got this Which definition best explains why the far and this big?” she means that — unshelled peas in paragraph 6 are “symbols of A. the three women should have prevented domesticity?” people from doing all experiments A. Definition 1 B. society should have made the women stop B. Definition 2 doing the experiments C. Definition 3 C. everything would have been all right if the experiment had stayed small D. Definition 4 D. people should have paid attention to what was happening and where it was leading

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Use “Staying in Galveston” (pp. 163–166) to 15. People don’t like to talk about the storm of answer questions 10–16. 1900 because — A. it is like a skeleton in the closet 10. One of the main ideas of this article is — B. nothing much happened A. Galveston is a great place to live C. everyone is still grieving about their B. hurricanes are part of life in Galveston families’ losses C. that it is easy to ride out a hurricane D. it ended Galveston’s economic power D. that Houston has a large port 16. The word prominence in paragraph 38 comes 11. Which sentence from the article best shows from the Latin root prominere, meaning “to the power of the storm? jut out.” Prominence means — A. “This thing tossed me like a salad.” A. importance B. Coast Guard helicopters buzzed overhead in B. flavor an effort to check on rescue missions. C. politics C. “I’m just making sure there are no water D. time moccasins.” D. Along Broadway and 29th, two teenagers Use “Embroidery” and “Staying in kayaked on their way to check on a friend’s Galveston” to answer questions 17–18. house. 17. All of the people in “Embroidery” and 12. In paragraph 2, the phrase “anything but “Staying in Galveston” — theoretical” means it is — A. are women A. an idea B. faced a flood B. easy C. survived the disaster C. expensive D. tried to stay in their homes D. real 18. The message taught by “Embroidery” and 13. A synonym for the word binge in paragraph 18 “Staying in Galveston” is that — is — A. people always manage to rebuild A. bridge B. disasters are usually avoidable B. design C. people should make every effort to get out C. overindulgence of harm’s way D. slowdown D. there is nothing anyone can do to escape a 14. In paragraphs 29–32, Sara Rampton said that disaster people cannot replace — A. their homes B. their telephones C. their personal things D. their coffee

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VA_L10PE-u01-tap.indd 169 3/28/11 10:19:19 AM STOP Use the visual representation on page 167 to SHORT CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE answer questions 19–20. Write a short response to each question, using text evidence to support your response. 19. The main message of the poster is — 21. Why do the women in “Embroidery” A. help others get ready for emergencies continue to embroider instead of running to a B. don’t wait to prepare for emergencies shelter? Use evidence from the text to support C. only parents should prepare for your response. emergencies 22. What reasons do people give in “Staying in D. people should stay calm in emergencies Galveston” for choosing not to evacuate? Use evidence from the text to support your 20. The designer of the poster most likely chose response. the photograph to — A. emphasize calmly planning for Write a short response to this question, using emergencies text evidence from both selections to support B. illustrate how to write a supply list your response. C. encourage single mothers to involve their 23. How do the settings in “Embroidery” and children “Staying in Galveston” affect the mood of D. encourage children to participate in each selection? Use evidence from both planning selections to support your response.

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Revising and Editing DIRECTIONS Read this passage, and answer the questions that follow.

(1) With a weight of 13,632 tons and a length of 729 feet, the Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest carrier on the Great Lakes when it first sailed in 1958. (2) Seventeen years later, the ship would sink in Lake Superior. (3) At 2:20 p.m. on November 9th 1975 the Fitzgerald departed Superior, Wisconsin, destined for Detroit. (4) The National Weather Service issued gale warnings for the area. (5) Waves came onto the deck. (6) At approximately 7:15 that evening, the ship vanished from radar observation. (7) All 29 crew members were lost. (8) The next day, winds gusting up to 70 knots and waves cresting as high as 30 feet they shook the ship. (9) It was later discovered that the ship had dropped about 530 feet to the bottom of Lake Superior. (10) That day of November 10, 1975, will always be remembered.

1. What is the most effective way to improve the 4. Which transitional word or phrase could be organization of the paragraph? added to the beginning of sentence 4? A. Move sentence 1 to follow sentence 10 A. Consequently, B. Move sentence 2 to follow sentence 3 B. Naturally, C. Move sentence 3 to follow sentence 7 C. Shortly afterward, D. Move sentence 8 to follow sentence 4 D. As a result, 2. What is the most effective way to rewrite 5. What is the best example of a vivid verb to sentence 2 to convey a more somber tone? replace the phrase came onto in sentence 5? A. Seventeen years later, the doomed ship A. Battered would sink in Lake Superior. B. Propelled B. Seventeen short years later, the ship would C. Pushed plunge below the surface of Lake Superior. D. Stirred C. Seventeen productive years later, the ship would finish its journey in Lake Superior. 6. What change, if any, should be made to D. Seventeen years later, the hefty ship would sentence 8? dive into Lake Superior. A. Insert a comma after knots B. Delete they 3. What is the best way to correct sentence 3? C. Change winds to wind’s A. Change departed to departing go on D. Make no change B. Insert commas before and after 1975 C. Delete the comma after Wisconsin D. Make no change STOP

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Ideas for Independent Reading Great Reads1 Which of the questions in Unit 1 intrigued you most? Continue exploring them with these additional works.

Virginia Standards of Learning What if everyone were the same? 10.4 The student will read, comprehend, and analyze literary 1984 Bless the Beasts Colors of the Mountain texts of different cultures and by George Orwell and Children by Da Chen eras. 10.5 The student will read, by Glendon Swarthout comprehend, analyze, and evaluate This novel is set in a bleak The author of this memoir nonfiction texts. future world where citizens The heroes of this book are grew up in China during are constantly watched by boys who are misfits at the Cultural Revolution, a the government, known as a summer camp. They’re time of great repression Big Brother. Individuality is different from the popular, and conformity. Persecuted forbidden, free thought is athletic boys, and working because of his family’s former suppressed, and words never together they plot to free a wealth, he endured and made mean what they say. pen of buffaloes that are to it to college. be slaughtered.

What makes something valuable?

The Piano Lesson Crazy in the Kitchen Brick Lane by August Wilson by Louise DeSalvo by Monica Ali In this play, an African- Several generations of Italian- Nazneen, born in Bangladesh, American brother and sister American women battle in is sent to England at age 18 clash over their family’s the kitchen over different to marry a Bengali immigrant legacy—a piano carved ways of cooking. The author twice her age. Eventually she in designs by an enslaved realizes that food represents begins to ask what she wants ancestor. The brother wants a wealth of different values from life, what she finds of to sell it to buy land; the sister in the lives of her family value. wants to keep it. members.

Is survival a matter of chance?

The Perfect Storm Left for Dead Isaac’s Storm by Sebastian Junger by Beck Weathers by Erik Larson In October 1991, one of the He was left for dead on the In 1900, a hurricane destroyed worst storms in history slopes of Mount Everest. His much of Galveston, Texas. occurred off the coast of New companions thought he had Over six thousand died. The England. This true account frozen. But his commitment book tells us why, and also how describes the sinking of the to his wife and family woke those who survived did so. fishing boat Andrea Gail and Beck Weathers up in time to the dramatic attempts to save his life, though not all of Get Novel rescue other vessels. his fingers. Wise Go to thinkcentral.com. KEYWORD: HML10-172

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